Economics, Production, and Exchange Flashcards
1
Q
Economics
A
how people make their living and satisfy their needs and wants
-we produce and we consume
2
Q
Subsistence Strategies
A
culturally created ways to secure food
1) Foraging
2) Horticulture
3) Pastoralism
4) Agriculture
3
Q
Foraging
A
-finding what is in nature and sustaining yourself off of it: hunters gather, fishing.
-Largely egalitarian
-Groups tend to be smaller/ pressure to share resources
-Ex: Siberian Indigenous People
hunting and gathering
4
Q
Horticulture
A
- small plots of land that uses little technology to grow crops for family use.
- It is not meant to be sold, at least not in large amounts.
- You only produce what you need, not an abundant amount. -Ex: the Big man culture in Melanesia who grow sweet potatoes. They use few resources to produce what they need
5
Q
Pastoralism
A
- Herds of domesticated animals. They use every part of the animal - eat what they can, use hide for things, and trade the parts they can’t use.
- Ex: Nandi of Kenya and Gujjars (Middle East) - transhumant (semi-nomadic: have a sod and mud home they live in for the winter half of the year in the valleys and the summer half they take their sheep up to the high parts of the Himalayas)
6
Q
Agriculture
A
- requires constant and intense use of land and technology
- primarily for plant cultivation
- The one that we are generally more familiar with in America
7
Q
Generalized Reciprocity
A
- undefined, not clearly indicated
- no clear guidelines or timeline
- i.e. parents give to children
8
Q
Balanced Reciprocity
A
- Roughly equal, relatively short time.
- Happens when you give a gift and expect something back.
- It is not always exactly equal, but roughly close. (speaks to the underneath relationship)
- Some cultures are more equal than others. Ex: German, everything is to the penny equal - keep track of every gift given and received. If a gift is given and nothing received in return, feelings are hurt
9
Q
Negative Reciprocity
A
- one party or both want to receive more
- Where someone is trying to get something out of the exchange, out of the relationship.
- i.e. car salesman
10
Q
Melville Herskovits
A
- African American studies
- Everyone deals with the same problem
- Problem of Scarcity
- Cultures handle scarcity in different ways
11
Q
Kwakiutl
A
- In British Columbia
- Negative reciprocity and redistribution
- Gifts to the village chiefs
- prestige/shame
12
Q
Nunez (Theory)
A
- Negative reciprocity
- People are obligated to get the most
13
Q
Car Salesmen
A
- Example of negative reciprocity
- Wants more from transaction than customer
14
Q
Carol Stack
A
- Among low-income African Americans
- Gift-giving is about survival
- Type of strategy
15
Q
Patricia Sloane (1999)
A
- Malay Entrepreneurs in Malaysia
- Most people from Middle class
- Self-interested but also wanted to keep Muslim beliefs and practices
- Family was very important, felt an obligation to help
- Most businesses failed because of this
