Chapter 7 Flashcards
Where does the word economics come from?
Greek word “Oikonomicos.” Oikos means house, nem means to regulate, administer, and organize.
What does a society’s economy consist of?
1) Production 2) Distribution/Exchange 3) Consumption
What does classic economic theory assume?
1) Price of commodity increases as demand goes up, decreases as supply increases
2) As prices go up, sellers/producers enter the market to fulfill the demand which brings prices down
3) As prices go down, sellers leave the market, decreasing the supply, bringing prices up
4) Eventually, equilibrium is reached (equal numbers enter and leave, prices stabilize
5) Individuals act rationally by economizing to maximize their utility (ex: profits or satisfaction)
What is exchange?
The act of giving or taking one thing in return for another. The transfer of things between social actors.
What happened with Thomas and Jane Carlyle’s Christmas presents?
Received scarf, bracelet, and jigsaw puzzle from people of higher status than them. Next year, Jane Carlyle received a black silk dress, and claimed she was being insulted, as it was made by machine rather than by hand.
Raffia cloth among the Lele
Movement of Raffia cloth is a good example of mediation of status by goods. Young men need the raffia to marry, but it is regulated by the older men, so the young men need the older mens approval in order to get the raffia.
What was Marcel Mauss’ view on gift giving?
Three obligations: to give, to receive, to reciprocate. Gifts create relationships not just between individuals, but between groups, which take the form of “total prestations.” Groups, or moral persons carry out the exchanges and act as incumbents of social positions.
How does the principle of reciprocity play into maintaining relationships?
By creating an unequal relationship. The giver turns the receiver into a debtor, until a gift is reciprocated and they are back on equal grounds. A form of social contract, obligations are kept because both sides benefit from giving and receiving gifts.
What was the potlatch?
An incredibly large indigenous gift giving ceremony-used to celebrate events in life cycle, initiation, marriage, house building, funerals etc.
How was the potlatch announced?
On a ceremonial dugout canoe, made from a single cedar log, where costumed bird and animal dancers announced it.
What did serving food and giving gifts signify with the potlatch?
Allowed the host to demonstrate his generosity and wealth, and to assert his ancestral privileges to the guests.
What did the gifts include precontact?
Canoes, slaves, goat hair blankets, and food.
What was the most central symbol of wealth, power and prestige?
The copper. Sometimes broken and distributed to high status guests. Sometimes involved rivalry-if a chief offered his rival a piece of copper, the rival had to give back a piece of his own copper of equal or higher value or suffer humiliation.
What is the social significance of the potlatch?
Representation of the hosts status and the display of rank and title. In return for giving away food and wealth, they get status recognition and lineage recognition.
What is prestation?
Social phenomenon. Not individuals, but collectives that impose obligations of exchange and contract upon each other.
How did Karl Polyani divide up economies?
Three types: According to the dominant mode of distribution.
1) Reciprocity (return of a gift or prestation)
2) Redistribution (collection from members of a group and then redistribution within this group
3) Market (involves money and profit).
What are Sahlin’s 3 types of reciprocity?
1) Generalized
2) Balanced
3) Negative
Form a continuum that correlates with kinship and social distance.
What is generalized reciprocity?
Gifts, sharing, helping, generosity. Between close kin and friends, highly moral-no expectations of return. Correlated with rank, relative wealth and need, food, geographic distance.
What is balanced reciprocity?
Return expected, delayed exchange. Maintain ties with more distant people, precise balance between things exchanged. Important in peace making, death payments, and marriage alliances.
How does the Kula tradition differ from classical economic ideas?
Exchange not done freely, only two items, not based on need, no price mechanism, value not determined by supply and demand, never ends, highly ritualized, based on obligations, delayed exchange, surrounded by mythology.
What is negative reciprocity?
Less common, impersonal, distrustful, not based on ongoing social relations, exchange without money, taking items by force, personal gain is primary motivator.
What is redistribution?
Exchange among social unequals. Centralized accumulation and relocation of wealth. Maintain internal status and superiority. Maintain standard of living, keep constituents happy. Wealth used to leverage power. (Ex: taxes, food bank).
What is modern market exchange?
Refers to vice-versa movement between hands in a market system. Requires a system of price making markets in order for integration. The dominant mode of integration in modern industrial societies.
What is market exchange?
Value preset by impersonal “market forces.” Exchange occurs presumably independent of and uninfluenced by social relations.
