Savage Money: The Anthropology and Politics of Commodity Exchange"The mark of a civilized economy is national money; the English pound, the Australian dollar, the Indian rupee. The mark of a savage economy is untamed money in the form of cowrie shells, silver, gold and so on. The power of the state is crucially dependent on its ability to domesticate savage money and to reproduce its control over it. This is a constant struggle and especially so for an imperial state with ambitions of international statehood. The English pound conquered cowries and silver at the end of the last century, and the American dollar almost succeeded in domesticating gold, the last vestige of savage money. However, a new era of savage money is dawning in the twilight of the American empire. 'Money' has an equivocation rather than a definition. Naming it does not nail it. It is a chameleon-like symbol which is forever changing as mercantile relations between people vary over time and place. This volume is not simply another general theory of world system." -- Publisher. |
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Page vii
... Supreme Good 75 IV. Production of Commodities by Means of Goods 123 V. Mercantile Kinship 167 VI. Usury, Interest and Usance 216 VII. Domesticated Money 238 VIII. Savage Money 271 IX. Toward a Radical Humanist Anthropology 304 Contents.
... Supreme Good 75 IV. Production of Commodities by Means of Goods 123 V. Mercantile Kinship 167 VI. Usury, Interest and Usance 216 VII. Domesticated Money 238 VIII. Savage Money 271 IX. Toward a Radical Humanist Anthropology 304 Contents.
Page ix
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Contents
CHAPTER I The Value Question | 1 |
CHAPTER II Beyond Gifts and Commodities | 43 |
CHAPTER III Land as the Supreme Good | 75 |
CHAPTER IV Production of Commodities by Means of Goods | 123 |
CHAPTER V Mercantile Kinship | 167 |
CHAPTER VI Usury Interest and Usance | 216 |
CHAPTER VII Domesticated Money | 238 |
CHAPTER VIII Savage Money | 271 |
CHAPTER IX Toward a Radical Humanist Anthropology | 304 |
Bibliography | 320 |
335 | |
Other editions - View all
Savage Money: The Anthropology and Politics of Commodity Exchange Chris A. Gregory Limited preview - 1997 |
Common terms and phrases
acres analysis anthropological anthropologists approach argues argument bangle Bank Bastar become beginning borrower brothers called capital caste century chapter cloth commodities comparative concerned Consider contradiction countries cowrie created cultural currency defined developed distinction dollar economic established example exchange existence fact farm farmers Figure forest gifts give given gold grain hand holdings House household human important India interest involved Jain kind Kondagaon labour land lending live loans logic Marwari means merchants Minipur notes notion objects opposition period perspective political poor principle problem production profit purchased quantity question relations relative reserves rice sell shells shows silver social society sons standard Table territoriality theory things thought trade Tribal University village women