Feb 26th 2008

The American Myth of Homo-Economicus
All humans are selfish and seek to maximize their own material gain.

Modes of Distribution & Exchange
1. Reciprocity - Foraging / Horticulture
2. Redistribution - All but different in each
3. Market Exchange - Agriculture/Industrialism
These correlations come about because of the social and political organization that each mode of subsistence produces. We will discuss this in more detail later. Basically, agriculture and industrialism support much larger populations, and larger populations are less likely to emphasize reciprocity due to the increasing anonymity of social relations.

3 Types of Reciprocity
Generalized
Balanced
Negative

Example of Redistribution: Kaiyep Kulip
Kaiyep Kulip isa feast that my friends in Papua New Guinea do whenever there is too much kaiyep (pandanus fruit) around. One village area challenges another village area to try to eat all the food they eat. This is a form of redistribution because large amounts of resources are pooled into one and then redistributed to others.

Birth of Market Exchange
Agriculture =>
increased population =>
specialization / division of labor =>
need frequent and formalized exchanges =>
market exchange

Gift vs. Commodity Exchange


break for discussion ...

Coca-Colanization (check out Part 3 of "The Cola Conquest" DVD on reserve in the library)

Why the market expands

• Seeking more consumers (demand)
• Locals need money
• Locals sell land and labor
• Become dependent on market

Tricks of the trade

• Free or cheap introduction of the product
• Eliminate local alternatives
• Create "desire", make them consumers

Consumer Culture

• advertisements help define our identities and happiness
• buy identity/status items
• height of buildings is where we place our values
• church
• government
• coorporations
• "consume to relate"
  

From "The Wealth of Nations" to "The Wealth of Networks"
New forms of peer production
Open Source
Linux
Wiki