From Political Economy To Anthropology

This collection represents a better understanding of ancient people's attempts at situating economic life within society. Some of the topics covered include a social and economical analysis of ancient, pre-State Greece, Athens in particular; of the classical Maya; the Maori women and slaves; of rural India; rural Kentucky; and of pre-industrial Japan. Edited by Colin Duncan and David Tandy Volume Three of the Critical Perspectives on Historic Issues series Scholars affected by Polanyi's ideas came together to present talks at international conferences, and from those conferences arose this collection which represents a move toward a better understanding of the ancient people's attempts at situating economic life within particular societies. Some of the topics covered include a social and economical analysis of ancient, pre-State Greece, Athens in particular; of the classical Maya; the Maori women and slaves; of rural India; rural Kentucky; and of preindustrial Japan. Contributors include: Walter Donlan, Ian Morris, John Adams, Vernon Scarborough, William Schaniel. The essays in this volume demonstrate the breadth of Polanyi's influence across many disciplines. Contributors include: Walter Donlan, Ian Morris, John Adams, Vernon Scarborough, William Schaniel. Table of Contents Acknowledgements Notes on Contributors Introduction - Colin A. M. Duncan and David W. Tandy 1 Karl Polanyi's Distinctive Approach to Social Analysis and the Case of Ancient Greece: Ideas, Criticisms, Consequences - David W. Tandy and Walter C. Neale 2 Chief and Followers in Pre-State Greece - Walter Dolan 3 The Community Against the Market in Classical Athens - Ian Morris 4 The Institutional Theory of Trade and the Organization of Intersocial Commerce in Ancient Athens - John Adams 5 Water Management as a Function of Locational and Appropriational Movements and the Case of the Classic Maya of Tikal 6 Hansatsu: Local Currencies in Pre-Industrial japan - Makoto Maruyama 7 potatoes, muskets, and a Changing Community: How the Changing Economic Roles of Women and Slaves Remained Embedded in Maori Society, 1769-1839 8 Exposure and Protection: The Double Movement in the Economic History of Rural India - Walter C. Neale 9 Time and the Economy in a Northeastern kentucky Region - Rhoda Halperin Colin A. M. Duncan is adjunct assistant professor of history at Queen's University in Kingston, where he specializes in the environmental history of British agriculture. David W. Tandy is associate professor of classics at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville; his specialty is early Greece. Volume Three of the Critical Perspectives on Historic Issues series 1995: 186 pages

Traditionally economic anthropology has been studied by sociologists, anthropologists, and philosophers seeking to highlight the social foundations of economic action. Meanwhile, anthropological questions have remained largely untreated in economics, despite the prominence given to the individual in microeconomics. And there is very little in the way of dialogue between the two sides. This book argues for a new economic anthropology which goes beyond the conflict of economics and anthropology to show the complementarity of the two approaches. Economics needs to go beyond the stage of homo oeconomicus and be open to broader ideas about the person. Equally, anthropology can be enriched through the methods and models of economic theory. This new economic anthropology goes beyond a simple observation of societies. It is new because it introduces the responsible person with a wider range of characteristics, in particular vulnerability and suffering, as a subject of economics. It is a particular interpretation of economic anthropology calling for a broadening of the subject (moving from the individual to the person), range of values (admission of negative values for altruism, social capital, responsibility), and disciplinary references. Through this approach, both economics and anthropology can be enriched. This book will be of great interest to those working in the fields of economics, anthropology, philosophy, and development studies.

Acclaim for the first edition: 'The volume is a remarkable contribution to economic anthropology and will no doubt be a fundamental tool for students, scholars, and experts in the sub-discipline.' – Mao Mollona, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 'This excellent overview would serve as an excellent text for advanced undergraduate and graduate-level classroom use. . . Because of the clarity, conciseness, and accessibility of the writing, the chapters in this volume likely will be often cited and recommended to those who want the alternative and frequently culturally comparative perspective on economic topics that anthropology provides. Highly recommended. All academic levels/libraries.' – K.F. Rambo, Choice The first edition of this unique Handbook was praised for its substantial and invaluable summary discussions of work by anthropologists on economic processes and issues, on the relationship between economic and non-economic areas of life and on the conceptual orientations that are important among economic anthropologists. This thoroughly revised edition brings those discussions up to date, and includes an important new section exploring ways that leading anthropologists have approached the current economic crisis. Its scope and accessibility make it useful both to those who are interested in a particular topic and to those who want to see the breadth and fruitfulness of an anthropological study of economy. This comprehensive Handbook will strongly appeal to undergraduate and post-graduate students in anthropology, economists interested in social and cultural dimensions of economic life, and alternative approaches to economic life, political economists, political scientists and historians.

The Anthropology of Development and Globalization is a collection of readings that provides an unprecedented overview of this field that ranges from the field’s classical origins to today’s debates about the “magic” of the free market. Explores the foundations of the anthropology of development, a field newly animated by theories of globalization and transnationalism Framed by an encyclopedic introduction that will prove indispensable to students and experts alike Includes readings ranging from Weber and Marx and Engels to contemporary works on the politics of development knowledge, consumption, environment, gender, international NGO networks, the IMF, campaigns to reform the World Bank, the collapse of socialism, and the limits of “post-developmentalism” Fills a crucial gap in the literature by mingling historical, cultural, political, and economic perspectives on development and globalization Present a wide range of theoretical approaches and topics