Deconstructing Development: Immigration, Society and Economy in Early Twenty-First Century Cayman

To study Caymanian society is to become aware of the myriad of intractable challenges to which the totally imported society must come to grips.  Considering the Islands were so far from modernity, John Maloney, writing in the Saturday Evening Post of April 8^th, 1950, described them as “The Islands Time Forgot”. 

The rapid economic development since that time is often taken as a ‘quantum leap’ and Caymanians themselves are bewildered by this progress which began in 1953 when literally hundreds of Caymanian sailors, hired by U.S. companies to crew ships which flew flags of convenience, contributed to the modernization of the society through their remittances. These developments prompted wealthy North American financiers, attorneys and developers to take an interest in the Islands.

Today, the modern Cayman Islands is a society on the cusp of upheaval.  Voluntary colonialism has led to an identity crisis among established Caymanians.  This situation is further compounded by wage stagnation and income inequality which places established Caymanians at a disadvantage vis-à-vis expatriates.  I contend that this has implications for the disintegration of Cayman society, with expatriates accusing Caymanians of an “entitlement culture” and “established” Caymanians pejoratively labeling citizen expatriates as “paper Caymanians”.  Such a toxic rivalry has spawned an unhealthy duality which, with no prospects for a rapprochement, leaves the Cayman Islands, as a society, at risk.