I. Capitalism, Communism, and Catholicism: Images from Cuba

A. Pope John Paul II's visit to Cuba, January 1998
B. Images from the visit

1. Pope and Castro meeting
2. Shaking hands
3. Exchanging gift
4. Shaking hands after mass

C. Castro's welcome speech
D. Pope's response, University of Havana
E. Popemobile and Che
F. Anti-Uncle Sam billboard
G. Coffee sales work to end the embargo

1. Donate $.15 per pound to Global Exchange
2. Coffee is from Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Mexico
3. Organic
4. Certified by Fair Trade
5. Pope and Castro package: "The photo represented another sort of revolution: change through civil discourse. If these two icons representing such different points of view could communicate with each other, then violent revolution can be laid to rest in the wake of civil discourse."

 

II. Images of Global Capitalism Today

A. Pope's speech: culture is opposed to economics

1. Praises Cuban culture
2. Marxist and Catholic culture as antidotes to capitalism
3. Culture, not economics, makes us human

B. Coffee package: use capitalism to support opponent of capitalism

 

III. Rethinking Economic Anthropology

A. Economic anthropology: anthropological study of economics

1. Anthropology = study of human beings in all of their diversity

a. organize as members of societies
b. make sense of lives through culture

2. Economics = relationship between humans and material world of goods

a. Institutions
b. Practices
c. Decisions
d. Production, circulation, consumption

B. Economic anthropologists see links between economics and culture
C. Capitalism has become dominant
D. Salvage ethnography
E. Kula seems less economic today than it did in the 1920s
F. Henry Tokubak in New Guinea

1. Asserts value of shell money
2. Realizes that shell money will survive if it is compatible with capitalism
3. Local traditions survive only if they adapt to capitalism

G. Examples of how capitalism uses or destroys culture

1. Taussig: Tio will disappear once miners become truly capitalist
2. Ong: Spirits will disappear once women's factory work is normalized
3. Willis: Lads' resistance reinforces capitalism
4. Scott: moral economy will disappear, class and self-interest replace kinship, reciprocity, mutual obligation

H. Consensus: culture can resist capitalism, but ultimately loses

 

IV. Capitalisms, not Capitalism

A. Capitalism is different in different places

1. Japan, uchi
2. China, guanxi
3. Not capitalism, but locally specific capitalisms

B. Economic anthropology's role in resisting capitalism

1. In theory: asserted that capitalism is a cultural system
2. In practice

a. Marxist viewpoint: capitalism as unique system of production ==> focus on other systems of production with different logics
b. Maussian viewpoint: system of market exchange ==> focus on other systems of exchange, i.e. kula, potlatch

C. Recent developments: look at capitalism in West, consumption

1. Desire as source and result of production
2. Barbadian informatics workers as producers/consumers, discipline/pleasure

D. Goal for 21st century: more economic anthropological studies of capitalisms
E. Pope isn't right in seeing opposition between culture and economics

1. Capitalism is fundamental to our culture
2. We are products of capitalism
3. Links between capitalism and culture have been naturalized
4. Understanding these links is best way to change economic system

F. Finally realize Weber's goal of seeing capitalism as a culturally and historically specific system

 

For more information, contact:  aleshkow@holycross.edu