Economic systems - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Economic systems

the production, distribution and consumption of goodsSlide2

Economic

Anthropology

Economic System:

production, distribution and consumption of goods

studying

the economies of

nonliterate

people is when we begin judging work, property and lives from our

perspective

in poorer societies, wants are kept at levels where they can be constantly satisfied (wants are also satisfied in ways that does not harm the environment

)

goods and services were produced in the right quantity and on the time it was required

to understand how the schedule of wants or demands of a given society is balanced against the supply of goods and services, one must create a non economic variable (the anthropological variable of culture)

economic processes cannot be interpreted without understanding demands and how they are satisfiedSlide3

Yam Production in the Trobriand Islands

Men

in the Trobriand islanders give yam to their sisters and married daughters to show their support for their husband and to enhance his own influence

when

the yams are brought into the woman’s house, it symbolizes his power and influence in his community

the yam is used to purchase goods such as arm shells, shell necklaces, earrings, pigs, chicken, wooden bowls, floor mats, lime pots and magic spells Men symbolize status and power through yam competitions where the men give away yams to invited guestsgiving yams to women also makes them indebted to you and the debt could not be paid off through feasts or gifting equipmentThe debts would be paid off through the woman’s wealth which included bundles of banana leaves and skirts made from the same material dyed redThese were items that required extensive labour to produceSlide4

Yam Production in the Trobriand Islands

the

yams allowed for women to purchase goods and skirts for a funeral

since

deaths are unpredictable, men must always have available yam

people assign meanings to objects making them more valuable than they reallyit is difficult to understand the values of such objects from an outsider’s perspectivein world economic system studies, small-scale cultures are connected to a larger economic system such as the market economy and political organizationsmall-scale economic systems often coexist within larger economic systemsResources- raw materials,

labour

, and technology are the productive resources used to produce goods and services

- rules

for using these resources vary in culturesSlide5

Patterns of

Labour

all

human cultures have a division of

labour

based on age and sexdividing labour by sex increases the efficiency of learning the necessary skills since only half the adults need to learn a particular skilldividing labour by age provides youths with time to develop the skillsSlide6

Sexual Division of

Labour

work

is usually divided up by sex

“women’s

work” generally refers to labour carried out near home“men’s work” generally refers to labour that requires physical strength, rapid mobilization of high bursts of energy, frequent travel from ome and high levels of risk and dangerWomen in some egalitarian societies still carry out difficult tasks In Vikings, women served as warriors; looked as better warriors than men.

Sexual

division of labor can’t be explained

just by

male strength or female reproductive biology

Some

cultures, such as in the

Ju

/

hoansi

, both genders perform ~35% of activities in equal participation; other tasks divided by which gender can do them

better

values

cooperation over

competition

Women and men work together at timesSlide7

Sexual Division of

Labour

Sexually

segregated cultures rigidly categorize work as “masculine” or “feminine”

Men

and women barely engage in joint effortsUsually found in pastoral nomadic, intensive agriculture and industrial societies Usually where men’s work keeps them away from homeBoys and girls raised by the women; boys usually “prove” their masculinity In the third (“dual sex”) configuration, men and women carry out work separately Relationship is of balance rather than inequalitiy Each sex manages their own affairsNeither sex asserts dominance over others

Popular

among First Nations peoples (whose economies were based on subsistence farming, as well as West African KingdomsSlide8

Age Division of Labor

Dividing

labor according to age is typical of human

culture

Among

Ju/Hoansi, children are not expected to contribute to subsistence until they reach their late teens“Retirement” comes around age 60Then, they’re responsible for handling ritual substances considered dangerousSince they are around for a long time; they are considered wise. In food foraging cultures, women continue to make significant contributions as they grow olderWomen’s foraging ability reduced when they have a baby

Grandmothers

have to continue

foraging for a longer timeSlide9

Age Division of Labor

In many nonindustrial cultures, children make a contribution in terms of work and responsibility

In Maya communities (southern Mexico and Guatemala, young children look after younger siblings and help with homework as well as housework

Girls make a contribution by age 7, and by age 11 are grinding corn, making tortillas, etc.

Boys are bringing in chickens or playing with a baby; by age 12, they are carrying toasted tortillas (bringing them to men working in the fields and bringing back corn

)Similar situations in Italy; children play a significant role in the economy- Girls at a young age take responsibilities for housework; freeing the older women to earn money- By age 14 they are old enough to work in a factory or workshopBoys

have a bit more freedom in terms of adult control; become involved in various street activities

.

In

North American grain farms, boys are expected to help their fathers as soon as they canSlide10

Age Division of Labor

Use

of child labor has become a matter of increasing concern; corporations are relying on poorer countries to manufacture goods

Estimated

15 million child laborers in South Asia, some as young as 4 years

oldMillions of dollars worth of imports coming from those countriesSometimes the families only/main source of incomeNot as easy as just going there and shutting stuff down; have to consider if the children and their families have to resort to beggingSlide11

Cooperation

Cooperative work groups found in many different types of cultures

In Ju/hoansi, women’s work is highly social

About 3 times a week, they go out to gather wild foods; they go in groups

Most basic cooperative unit is the household; unit of both production and consumption; except in industrial societies.

Maya farmers are motivated by a desire to provide welfare of his own familyEach family work as a group for its own good- Cooperative work may be undertaken outside the household for other reasons, such as part of fulfilling duties to inlaws, or for political officials- Cooperative work isn’t always voluntary (if someone commands them to/law of the land)Slide12

Craft Specialization

In nonindustrial societies, each person in the society has knowledge and competence in all aspects of work appropriate of his/her age and

gender

Can be a source of additional

income

In modern industrial societies, more specialized tasks are performed and no individual can learn them allEven in non-industrial societies, craft specializing can occurOne person may be skilled at making arrow-headsAmong people who produce their own food, specializing is more apt to occurIn the Trobriand Islands, if a man wanted tone to make axe blades, he had to go to an island where that kind of stone was quarried; clay pots were made by people in a different islandOne example of specialization is offered by the Afar people, who are salt minersSuccessful mining requires specialized skills in planning and organization, along with the physical strength and will to do work under the conditions present (very hot temperature) Slide13

Control of land

All cultures have regulations that determine the way land resources are allocated for example

Food foragers

Horticulturalists

Pastoralists

Intensive agriculturalistControl of land in nonindustrial societiesControlled by lineage or bandTerritories of the Ju/'hoansi are defined in terms of water holes located within boundaries of landThe size of band territories and bands can adjust to keep in balance with availability of resourcesFeudal system of land ownership prevails among some West African farmersLand belongs to the head chiefLater allocated to subchiefsBecomes distributed to lineage leaders to provide individual plots for each farmerSlide14

Technology

Technology - tools and other material equipment, together with the knowledge of how to make and use them

The number, kinds and knowledge of tools constitute its technology

Ex. Food foragers and pastoral nomads are apt to have fewer and simpler tools than the more sedentary farmer

Food foragers make and use a variety of tools and are ingenious in their effectiveness

A person may not refuse loaning a requested tool even if it's suggested for the owner's use onlyAmong horticulturalists, the axe, machete and digging stick are the primary tools. The rules are as follows: Maker has first rights to use themWhen not used, any family member may ask to use themRefusal would cause people to treat the owner with scorn for the lack of concern for othersIf a relative helps another raise the crop traded for a particular tool, that relative becomes part owner of the implement and may not be traded or given without permissionSlide15

In sedentary farming communities, tools and other productive goods are more complex and

costlier

to make

Ex. It is easy to replace a knife lost by a relative during palm cultivation but much more difficult to replace an iron plow

Rights to the ownership of complex tools are more rigidly applied

The person funding the purchase of a complex piece of machinery is the sole ownerSlide16

Resource depletion

The economic crisis concerning fisheries threatens the future of people who make their living by fishing

The Grand Banks off Newfoundland and the eastern Newfoundland-Labrador continental shelves, the richest fishing grounds in the world came to a halt following World War II

Declination of cod population by 99 percent

1992, Canadian government placed a moratorium, followed by the closure of commercial fishing around Newfoundland in 1995

Newfoundland's main economic activity impacts the lives of newfoundlandersFish plants and companies closed down and sold their boatsFishers became unemployed and forced to rely on government pension to surviveNewfoundlanders left the region seeking employment, especially younger inhabitants Others survived through informal occupationsEx. Gardening, gathering berries, hunting, etc. Slide17

First Nations peoples living on the West Coast, such as the

Kwakwak'wakw

relied on salmon for food, trade and ceremonial purposes

Early European immigrants to eastern Canada readily adopted the fishing industry, maintaining the tradition for another 500 years

Marine transhumance gave way to small-boat family operations in the 1800s

Commercial fleets with high-tech equipment collected large fish harvests during the mid-20th centuryMarginalized small fishersAs fish stocks dwindled, competition between fishers increasedAboriginal fishers clashed with nonaboriginal fishersForeign fishers also enroached on the fishing grounds off the coast of NewfoundlandFisheries management and conversation remained sporadic and controversialUnpredictable collapse and recovery of fish stocksSlide18

Environmental problems put added pressures on the fish stocks

Fish had become smaller and fewer by the early 1990s

"mother fish" had disappeared and groundfish stocks collapsed

Resulted in the 1995 cod moratorium being put to action, continuing to impact individuals and local communities to this daySlide19

The End