Tag: economic anthropology
Economic Anthropology: Reciprocity, Redistribution and Market Exchange
Economic Anthropology: Reciprocity, Redistribution and Market Exchange Anthropological economic theory, heavily influenced by Karl Polanyi’s seminal work, The Great Transformation (1957)¹ parti…
In memoriam James Ferguson
by Freek Colombijn and Marjo de Theije – Renowned anthropologist James (Jim) Ferguson passed away on 14 February 2025 at 65. He obtained his PhD in Social Anthropology…
Julia Soul: Between Confrontation and Silent Discipline: Working-Class Dilemmas under Javier Milei’s Far-Right Government in Argentina
With the triumph of Javier Milei in Argentina’s November 2023 national election, the country has followed the contemporary global trend of electing far-right governments. Through his frequent televisi…
Oil in Suriname: a light at the end of the tunnel?
by Eva Koemar – “Our current president – he must be from the afterlife, he says that he sees the light at the end of the tunnel. Nobody…
Desires in Gear: The Politics of Kinky Sexuality and Consumption in the Gear Fetish Community
When you think of an expensive outfit, what comes to mind probably won’t be a hazmat diving suit designed to keep your entire body out of contaminated water.…
Mahmudul H. Sumon: What do we learn from hybrid governance in Bangladesh’s garments sector?
Global production networks, as we know today, have repeatedly failed to ensure the rights of workers and their health and safety. These failings have been exposed time and…
Heroes of Our Economy
A social economy approach therefore asks why people are engaged in specific enterprises. Are they simply out to make the most money they can? Many people do. Or…
Gavin Smith: Toward a non-theory of the reproduction of labour
Matan Kaminer’s reflections on the workshop, “Rethinking surplus populations” is full of interesting insights and challenging puzzles. As he says, “operationalizing this concept [surplus populations]…
Ten Treasures (and a Bonus): A Selection of Anthropological Gems You Might Have Missed from the Past Few Years
I began interviewing authors of fabulous new anthropology books for this space back in 2016. While completing 11 interviews, I also amassed a backlog of more terrific books…
Matan Kaminer: Marxist anthropology in a world of surplus population: Reflections on a Frontlines of Value workshop
I was recently privileged to participate in a workshop about the Marxian concept of the “surplus population,” convoked by Stephen Campbell, Thomas Cowan, and Don Kalb as part…
It’s Not “Just” a Symbol
“Tails” side of the new U.S. quarter featuring Maya Angelou The new Maya Angelou quarter is a symbol, yes. But not “just” a symbol. Because, symbols matter. If…
Keith Hart: Comment on ‘Debt: The Last 5,000 Years’
David Graeber’s Debt: The First 5,000 Years was published in summer 2011. In August-September of that year, he took part in the first New York City General Assembly…
David Graeber LSE Tribute Seminar: Debt
Chair: Alpa Shah Discussants: Keith Hart & Maka Suarez In 2011, David published Debt: The First 5000 Years, a book that would establish him as one of the major…
Don Kalb: Constituent Imagination versus the Law of Value: On David Graeber’s ‘Anthropological Theory of Value’
Image 1: Book Cover. The last two decades in anthropology would have been dramatically less exciting without David Graeber. Given David’s prominent association with the Occupy rebellions and…
Chris Gregory: What is the false coin of our own dreams?
I confess that the first time I met David I was not impressed. It was in 2006 at a conference in Halle. David gave a 50-minute summary of…
David Graeber LSE Tribute Seminar: Value
‘Value’ is the one central themes that runs throughout and conjoins all of David Graeber’s writings. This week focuses on his first book, whose original title, eventually flipped…
The Moral Economy of the English Football Fan in the Twenty-first Century
In late April of this year, it was announced that twelve of the wealthiest and best supported teams from across Europe would be competing in a new competition…
Finance is Funds and Games Until It Stops (For Hedge Funds in New York)
By Nazli Azergun Two weeks ago, we experienced a flamboyant coda to an extremely eventful month. Between processing the assault of the US Capitol and Trump’s departure from…
Aliki Angelidou: “It is not the police that enters the universities, but democracy”: Greek universities as spearhead of an authoritarian turn
On February 22nd police forces entered the campus of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, heavily beating many students, arresting 31 of them, and teargasing all those present, including…
Juzimu: Jack Ma: Wherever the Wind Blows
One day last October, I happened to spot an acquaintance’s post on Wechat. It was a simple message thanking all ‘Ant-izens’ (people who work in Ant Financial of…
Anthropology of Wage Theft in Colorado
The theft of immigrant workers’ wages is a growing problem in the United States. In March 2018, University of Denver law student Katie Brown won $15,000 in County…
Collecting Relationships: the Phenomenon of Ooshies
Anthropologists have long acknowledged that ownership is a far more complex phenomenon than it seems at first. What on the surface appears to be a relationship between you…
Beyond the sensory art of sorting fruit
Sorting fruit may be a sensory art, and it is possible to get entirely lost in the aesthetics of skilful hands and the physicality of localised knowledge. But…