The cultural impact of economic conditions in Gozo

Abstract

This chapter attempts to show that economic realities have a major influence on the culture of a society, and this hypothesis is discussed with reference to the island of Gozo. The word culture is often associated with artistic behaviour and scholarly achievements (as in the German tradition), but the definition used in this chapter is wider and covers various aspects ofhuman activity such as language, customs, norms, values and beliefs. There are two points that need to be emphasised with regard to the manner in which the discussion will develop in this chapter. Firstly, the arguments to be presented are not intended to serve as evidence that culture is determined by the economic base only, or that there is a one way causation between the economic base and culture. Secondly, the discussion does not attempt to prove or disprove that certain economic conditions in Gozo cannot also be found in mainland Malta, and that, therefore, the two islands do not share certain cultural features. What this chapter tries to do is to associate commonly encountered traits in the Gozitan culture with underlying economic conditions in that island. This chapter is organised as follows. The next section describes the economy ofGozo, and focuses on some characteristics which are thought to have a major impact on G·ozitan cultures. The third section considers the issue of smallness and insularity and their cultural impact. The sections that follow deal with three specific characteristics of the Gozitan economy, namely emigration and return migration, the high dependence on agriculture and fishing, and the high incidence of self-employment, and assess how these characteristics have influenced the Gozitan culture. The chapter is concluded by a prediction that the Gozitan culture will be radically transformed as the Gozitan economy further modernises itself and as certain forms of production become more expensive to maintain, while others become more profitable.