Chapter 6: Economics Flashcards
1
Q
Economics Etymology
A
- From Classical Greek oikonomos
* Eco-nomos = “house laws”
* “house steward” - The provisioning of society
2
Q
Economic Anthropology
A
- a study of livelihoods
- how humans work to obtain the material necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter that sustain our lives
3
Q
Homo Economicus
A
a person who would make rational decisions in ways predicted by economic theories
4
Q
Mode of Production
A
- the social relations through which human labour is used to transform energy from nature using tools, skills, organization, and knowledge
- kin-ordered (domestic)
- tributary
- capitalist
5
Q
Kin-ordered (domestic)
A
- bands and descent based groups
- includes collective ownership, low levels of social domination, and sharing
ex. subsistence farmers
6
Q
Subsistence Farmers
A
people who raise plants and animals for their own consumption and not to sell to others
7
Q
Subsistence Economy
A
the provision of food, clothing and shelter to stay alive rather than make money
8
Q
Tributary
A
- Asiatic (centralized) / Feudal (dispersed)
- trade wealth
- organized by kinship relations
- rulers determined by military or political service (ex. China)
- rulers depend on producers and collect as tribute and not exchange
- conflict between producers and rulers
- politically controlled production
9
Q
Capitalist
A
- private ownership of means of production
- economic self-regulation
- based on private property owned by a capitalist class
- workers don’t own factories, they sell their labour power to capitalist
- capitalist able to sell products than the labour cost by low wages
- capitalist goal is to generate a surplus to gain profit or more surplus
10
Q
Domestic and Tributary vs Capitalism
A
- workers are not separated from the means of production (own their land or free hunting grounds)
- control over the goods they produce or portion of them
- control of when and when not to work
11
Q
3 Types of Exchange
A
- reciprocity
- redistribution
- market
12
Q
Reciprocity
A
- direct exchange between social equals
- not necessarily immediate
- social functions: encourages positive social relationships, increases prestige of gift giver, cements alliances through obligation
13
Q
Positive Reciprocity
A
- close kin, friends
- giving without expectation of return gifts
ex. mom making you food, buying a friend food, sharing
14
Q
Balanced Reciprocity
A
- more social distance but basically equals
- expecting something of equal value will be returned within a specific time period
15
Q
Negative Reciprocity
A
- people who are not socially close
- gift giver tries to do better than partner
ex. gambling, Nigerian scammers
