For the past two decades, there has been an observed shift in how the Jamaican populace responds to
institutions of the state. A political culture, generally characterized by large degrees of acquiescence
and a greater sense of loyalty to the state has been replaced at one level, by more social and political
activism evidenced in a constant agitation ‘to know’ or to be informed and at another, greater
suspicion of governmental actions. The body politic exhibits an enhanced sense of independence
bearing credence to the view that the state has lost control. Moreover, socio-political relations do not
precipitate towards a collective consciousness of a national vision as the basis of governmental actions
or decisions but instead assume a confrontational overtone, resulting in general disconnect between
society and politics. This paper argues that the socio-politico transformation in citizens’ attitude and
behaviour coincides with the expansion of the informal economy which has its genesis in adjustments
occurring in economic relations within the state but which has had significant impact on socio-politico
relations. It further proposes that the social relations of the informal economy have spawned an
informal citizenship which ‘status’, although finds analytic resonance in post-modern socio-political
processes, implicates how issues of identity and social placement are contemplated. The paper
employs two social problems – informal settlements/‘squatting’ and alternative community
leadership/‘Area Dons’ to support this proposition.