Chapter 6 Flashcards
what is economic anthro?
how people produce, exchange, consume material objects and the role that immaterial things play in efforts to secure livelihood
what are key distinctions of economics from economic anthro?
- focuses primarily on market exchanges
- decisions made and how they interact in the marketplace
- assumes people know what they want and economic choices express wants which are defined by culture
- normative theory (specifies how people should act if they want to make efficient economic decisions)
what are key distinctions of economic anthro from economics?
- self-interested decision-making
- social science (looks at what we do and why)
- assumes agency to act on own desires and that we don’t know what we want
what are the 3 phases of economic activity?
- production
- exchange
- consumption
what is the definition of modes of production?
social relations through which human labour is used to transform energy from nature using tools, skills, organization, and knowledge
what are the 3 modes of production?
- domestic
- tributary
- capitalist
who did modes of production originate with?
Eric Wolf
who was Eric Wolf influenced by and how?
Karl Marx believed human consciousness is determined by basic human activity
what is domestic production?
labour organized by kinship relations
domestic production characterizes the lives of who?
foragers and small-scale subsistence farmers
what are subsistence farmers?
people who raise plants and animals for own consumption
what kind of social structure does domestic production have?
egalitarian
despite being egalitarian, what kind of inequality exists in domestic production?
age and gender inequalities
what is a metate?
grinding stone
what are the 3 key elements of domestic production?
- collective ownership of primary means of production
- lower rates of social domination
- sharing
what is a means of production?
resources used to produce goods in a society
what is tributary production?
social systems divided into classes of rulers and subjects where subjects produce for themselves and their families but also give a proportion to rulers as tribute
how are rulers determined in tributary production?
descent and/or military and political service
what does tributary production characterize?
capitalist, state-level societies
what are the 4 key features of tributary production?
- dominant units of production are communities organized around kinship relations
- state’s society depends on local communities and tributes are used by ruling class rather than exchanged
- relationships between subjects and rulers are often conflictual
- politically-controlled production
what is capitalist production?
workers sell labour and are separated from means production because private property is owned by the capitalist test
when did capitalist production begin?
17th and 18th centuries
what is the most recent mode of production?
capitalist production
how often do we engage in diverse economic practices everyday?
everyday
why do capitalists keep wages low?
to sell products for more than it costs to produce them so that a surplus is generated for profit or reinvestment in production to generate more surplus
what is fair trade?
trading partnership based on seeking greater equity in trade
what is an informal economy?
economy not regulated by the state
what is a saulala?
secondhand clothing markets in Zambia
what is a saulala in Zambia example of?
an informal economy
in modes of exchange, what is the difference between economics and economic anthro?
economic anthro is able to explain reciprocity and redistribution whereas economics is able to understand markets
what are the modes of exchange?
reciprocity, redistribution, markets, money
who provided the description of reciprocity?
Marcel Mauss
what is reciprocity?
giving and reciprocating gifts creating relationships; gifts are about social relations
where does reciprocity usually take place in?
small-scale societies, away from market
what are the types of reciprocity?
generalized, balanced, and negative
what is generalized reciprocity?
gifting without reckoning exact value of gift without expectation of getting something in return
where does generalized reciprocity take place but isn’t limited to?
closest social relationships (households)
what leads to conflict in generalized reciprocity?
keeping track of gift values
what is balanced reciprocity?
gifting with expectation of something of equal value will be returned within a specific time period
what are the 3 phases of balanced reciprocity?
- gift is given
- gift is received
- reciprocal gift returned
what leads to conflict in balanced reciprocity?
no reciprocation of the gift
where does balanced reciprocity usually occur?
distant relationships (but not strangers)
what is negative reciprocity?
attempt to get something for nothing
which is the most impersonal type of reciprocity?
negative reciprocity
where does negative reciprocity usually occur?
among those who don’t know each other very well
what is redistribution?
accumulation of goods/labour for purpose of dispersal at a later date
where does redistribution occur?
in all societies, often coexisting with other modes of exchange
what must occur for redistribution to become a central economic process?
centralized political apparatus to coordinate and enforce it
what is a potlatch system an example of?
redistribution
what are markets?
social institutions with prices/exchange equivalencies; can’t exist without institutions to govern exchanges
what are markets regulated by?
supply and demand
what are markets based on?
transactions
what are transactions?
changes in status of a good/service between people
what are atomized transactions?
impersonal transactions that are short-run and close-ended with few future implications
what are personalized transactions?
transactions between those with relationships that endure past exchanges and may include social elements
are markets impersonal or personal?
impersonal
what do markets contrast?
reciprocity
what is money?
general purpose money
what is not a prerequisite for market exchanges but involved in most commercial transactions?
money
what are 3 features of money?
- serves a medium of exchange
- wealth storage
- way to assign interchangeable values
what are the Tiv Spheres of Exchange?
- subsistence systems
- slaves, cattle, white cloth, metal bars
- marriageable females
which Tiv Spheres of Exchange is most prestigious?
marriageable females
what is Ithaca HOURS an example of?
how money also measures purpose of our activities and challenges idea that money shapes economic relations through creating inequalities and obliterating qualitative differences
what is consumption?
process of buying, eating, using a resource
true or false: consumption is not a social process even when addressing physical needs
false– consumption is still a social process even when it addresses physical needs
how do anthers approach consumption?
as forms of behaviour connecting economic activity with cultural symbols giving our lives meaning
what does it mean to say objects have a social life?
objects become status symbols
how can you counter-argue that buying Western commodities leads to being Westernized?
can lead to resurgence of local identities and affirmation of local processes over global patterns
how do consumption of Western commodities manifest in local social networks?
they can be used to cement social and economic status
what are commodities?
a good produced for sale/exchange for other goods
what did intensification of global capitalism lead to?
vast majority of commodities we buy and food we consume coming from distant places
what is political economy?
contextualizes economic relations within state structures, political processes, social structures, cultural values
what is structural violence?
social structure/institution harming people by preventing them from meeting their basic needs
what kind of view does structural violence have?
individualistic, marginalization, blaming people for own injustice
what is the most prevalent type labour?
unpaid work outside the household
what is the central goal of economic anthro?
support equity
