ANTHRO 1021B_ Lecture 5

Economic Activities

  • All economic activities are social and cultural practices.

What is an Economy?

  • Definition: The way societies create, exchange, and distribute value.

Anthropological Economies

  • Capitalist market economies tend to obscure the social aspects of exchange.

  • In other systems, social relationships are central to exchange.

Economics vs Economic Anthropology

  • Economics:

    • Focus on Western (market) economies.

    • Large-scale, statistical, and quantitative.

    • Viewed as a distinct domain primarily dealing with monetary value.

  • Economic Anthropology:

    • Cross-cultural and historical perspective.

    • Small-scale, ethnographic, and qualitative.

    • Economy as a part of culture, inclusive of non-monetary values.

Gift Economies

  • Gifts are not typically viewed as economic exchanges.

  • Expectation of reciprocity is often viewed as petty, though it prevails.

  • Some economies thrive on gift exchange or reciprocity.

Hau and the Gift

  • Mauss examined the workings of gift economies, notably why individuals return gifts without direct contact or monetary exchange.

  • Hau: Described as the "spirit" of the gift that necessitates reciprocation to maintain balance.

  • Exchange maintains relationships, emphasizing the importance of both the item exchanged and the relationship itself.

The Kula Ritual

  • Studied in the Trobriand Islands by Malinowski.

  • Kula goods, intricate shell jewelry:

    • Mwali: Shell armbands.

    • Soulava: Shell necklaces.

  • Kula items are traded reciprocally, with no applicable exchange value outside the Kula economy.

The Kula Ring

  • Kula trade involves traveling between islands to receive Kula items, maintaining reciprocal relationships.

  • The flow of Kula goods runs in specific orientations (Mwali counter-clockwise, Soulava clockwise).

  • Kula goods signify status and are entwined with the individual’s connection to trading relationships.

Power of the Gift

  • Not all gift-giving is benevolent; complexities like power dynamics and social hierarchies influence exchanges.

  • Anthropologists study these relationships, interlinking economy with broader societal structures.

Potlatch

  • Practiced by some Pacific Northwest Indigenous communities, featuring elaborate gift-giving rituals.

  • Hosts challenge guests to out-gift them, demonstrating wealth and social status.

Types of Reciprocity

  • Marshall Sahlins’s Typology:

    • Generalized: Open-ended giving without expectation of return, emphasizes relationships.

    • Balanced: Equal exchanges with the expectation of future return.

    • Negative: Unequal exchanges expecting prompt returns, often exploitative.

  • David Graeber’s Spectrum:

    • Open: Long-term reciprocal relationships; balance achieved over time.

    • Closed: Immediate, balanced exchanges that are competitive and exploitative (barter or market).

Market Economies

  • Rely on immediate monetary transactions, often devoid of social interactions.

  • Example: Purchasing a candy bar does not require knowledge about the seller or production.

Market and Commodities

  • Commodities exist primarily within market economies defined by uniform value.

  • Key commodities include:

    • Fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal)

    • Agricultural products (soy, coffee, corn)

    • Metals (gold, silver, steel)

    • Materials (lumber)

Anthropology and Commodities

  • Examination of social features and meanings of commodities as they transition across different contexts.

Matsutake Commodities

  • Explore the transformation of Matsutake mushrooms from non-monetary to commodity status:

    • Prized in Japan as gifts.

    • Reflect values of independence among foragers in Oregon.

    • Graded and priced in markets, altering their social meanings before returning to gift economies in Japan.

Return of the Social

  • Digital advancements have reinvigorated social interactions in market transactions.

Sharing Economy

  • Platforms like AirBnB, Uber, and Etsy facilitate direct exchange of goods/services.

  • Cryptocurrency presents an alternative monetary transaction devoid of state domination.

Trust in Transactions

  • Trust underlies both reciprocal economies and sharing economy platforms, mediated through ratings and metrics.

  • Cryptocurrencies redefine trust away from individuals to algorithms.

Challenges of the New Economy

  • Centralization of power in tech companies and cryptocurrency holders remains a concern.

  • Embedded social processes within payment infrastructures complicate the critique of economic systems.

  • Exploration of what genuine alternatives to corporate/government-mediated economies might look like is warranted.