The relationship between rhetoric and policy in developing countries is examined using a case study drawn from the administration of Michael Manley in Jamaica in the 1970s. Particular attention is paid to problem definition, policy formulation, and implementation processes. The policy relating to community councils was based on socialistic political and economic arguments. Despite minor successes, most of the objectives associated with the community councils policy were not realized This failure was due, we suggest, to the Manley government's inability to transcend electoral and economic (national and international) realities and to convince a majority of the public and opposition of the validity of its rhetorical constructions. Parallels to three other developing countries are briefly explored
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