Economic anthropology

Polity Press

2011

x, 206 p.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 179–195) and index

9780745644820

Contents: Introduction : economic anthropology ; Economy from the ancient world to the age of the Internet ; The rise of modern economics and anthropology ; The golden age of economic anthropology ; After the formalist-substantivist debate ; Unequal development ; The socialist alternative ; One-world capitalism ; Where do we go from here?

This book is an introduction to the history and practice of economic anthropology by two leading authors in the field. They show that anthropologists have contributed to understanding the three great questions of modern economic history: development, socialism and one-world capitalism. In doing so, they connect economic anthropology to its roots in Western philosophy, social theory and world history. Up to the Second World War anthropologists tried and failed to interest economists in their exotic findings. They then launched a vigorous debate over whether an approach taken from economics was appropriate to the study of non-industrial economies. Since the 1970s, they have developed a critique of capitalism based on studying it at home as well as abroad. The authors aim to rejuvenate economic anthropology as a humanistic project at a time when the global financial crisis has undermined confidence in free market economics. They argue for the continued relevance of predecessors such as Marcel Mauss and Karl Polanyi, while offering a review of recent work in this field. This text presents a challenging perspective on the world economy today.

Английский