A critical appraisal of the plantation economy model (PEM)—a species of dependency analysis which concentrates on the impact of imperial domination on the export‐propelled economies of the Caribbean, as metropolitan interests shift from plunder to production for trade. Whilst the PEM makes a substantial contribution to the analysis of Caribbean society, it has marked limitations in its predictive weakness, its overall emphasis on structural transformation, and its failure to specify the socio‐political divisions created by the plantation economy, or to anticipate food and resource shortages relative to population. In fact, since 1975, all the Caribbean economies have suffered from balance of payments crises and high inflation.