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... Economics. When most Americans hear that term they think money. Yet all societies have economies while most have not used money as a medium of exchange. In fact, economics refers more to the regulation of access to natural resources. How people exchange goods and services is a second theme of this chapter, and finally the methods with which societies divide the labor resources are also explored
Access to land resources varies depending upon the way a group of people make their living. Hunter-gatherers and horticulturalists do not own land at the individual or family level. If land ownership happens at all it is at the band or village level. While horticulturalists also do not own land on an individual basis they do own their animals intensive agriculturalists do own their own land. Since the practice of agriculture is sedentary the land can be owned as the use of it continues, season after season The tools of the exploitation of economic resources become more complex as the society being studied goes from food collecting to intensive agriculture. While anyone can make the tools for horticulture, the tools for intensive agriculture are made by specialists. They must be purchased and become the private property of the purchaser. Labor is divided in all societies by gender. Furthermore, as societies become more technological, food surpluses become more common, thus releasing many people from the role of food producer. This provides more people for specialized skills, making better tools and thus more productive farming, which then releases more people from food production. This is a positive feed-back loop A large portion of this chapter is devoted to how economic resources are distributed. Three major systems exist They are not mutually exclusive Many societies use all three, Reciprocity, redistribution, and market or commercial exchange are the basis of distribution throughout the world Reciprocity involves the exchange of goods and or services. It may mean an immediate exchange in which case it would be balanced. Or it may be that there is no expectation of an exchange. This is gift giving called generalized reciprocity. Finally, in an exchange where one party is clearly trying to get the best of a deal by cheating or stealing, the exchange is referred to as negative reciprocity Redistribution is another form of exchange found in all societies The term refers to the way in which our taxes are collected and used, but also refers to the distribution of resources in a family or village Supply and demand control the pricing of material goods and services in a market economy. This is the one system that almost requires the use of some form of money. While most money is all-purpose (or multi-purpose) some is of special use, meaning that it can only be used for purchasing a single item that may be in short supply. Today we are racing toward a single-market world with demand being the final arbiter of supply From James Duvall, III, Study Guide for Cultural Anthropology. 1996.
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