Property and Equality: Volume II: Encapsulation, Commercialization, Discrimination

by Thomas Widlok (Editor), Wolde Gossa Tadesse (Editor)

The ethnography of egalitarian social systems was first met with sheer disbelief. Today it is still hotly debated in a number of fields and has gained sophistication as well as momentum. This collection of essays on "property and equality" acknowledges this diversification by presenting research results in two complementary volumes. They bring together a wide range of authoritative researchers most of whom have worked with hunter-gatherer groups. These two volumes cover existing ethnographic and theoretical ground while maintaining a clear focus on the relation between property and equality. The book consists of the most recent work of prominent members of the original group of researchers in hunter-gatherer studies among them James Woodburn and Richard Lee, and very recent ethnography on hunter-gatherers and other egalitarian systems.

Genres: Anthropology

276 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2006

Reviews

[Hillary · Rating 3 out of 5]

"For foraging peoples long immersed in an economy based on reciprocity and small-scale exchange, the transition to a monetized economy engenders profound changes, not just in economic, but in many other areas of social life."