ANT207H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Extortion, Noble Savage, Conspicuous Consumption
Document Summary
What is the economy : public discourse, presented to us through numbers, production/making a living, exchange/distribution how goods are translated, consumption! Formalists: rational allocation of resources all people calculate costs/benefits vary in the. If we didn"t, we would be erratic: what we try to maximize is varying depending on individual to individual. (eg. maximizing prestige by giving an expensive gift) Markets and distribution: neo-classical economics: markets as most efficient means to allocate resources, express choice, adam smith: Matches supply and demand (eg. too much cabbage lowers the prices so you grow carrots next year to gain choice and money) Government, no interfering with the economy/market: marx"s critique: Allocation based on ownership of the means of production. Who owns the means of production, that what determines the economy, we can"t just look at supply and demand (if you have no money you can"t express your demand) India famine, had food but no money so the brits still could buy their food.
