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An Anthropological Economy of Debt PDF

223 Pages·2015·0.894 MB·English
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An Anthropological Economy of Debt Debt is often thought of as a mere economic variable governed by a simplis- tic mechanical logic, ignoring its other facets. Whose debt, and debt of what exactly? This volume analyzes debt as a political and social construct, with a multiplicity of purposes and agents. All of these are vectors of meanings that are highly diverse and of subtle distinctions; they show that debt is a transverse phenomenon, cutting across spaces that are not merely economic but also domestic, social, and political. Each contributor takes a fresh view of the subject, dealing with debt at a different time, in a different society, on a different scale of observation. By adopting a determinedly interdisciplin- ary approach, the authors reveal in the phenomenon of debt a diversity of social and gendered determinants that amount in some cases to domination, allegiance, or slavery and in others to solidarity and emancipation. Debt is at one and the same time shared, imposed, political, and gendered. Bernard Hours, anthropologist. He is Senior Research Fellow at the Insti- tute of Research for Development (IRD) and member of CESSMA (Center for Research in social sciences in African, Asian and American Worlds) at Paris Diderot University. Pepita Ould Ahmed, socio-economist. She is Research Fellow at the Institute of Research for Development and member of CESSMA at Paris Diderot University. Routledge Studies in Anthropology 1 Student Mobility and Narrative 8 The Social Life of Climate in Europe Change Models The New Strangers Anticipating Nature Elizabeth Murphy-Lejeune Edited by Kirsten Hastrup and Martin Skrydstrup 2 The Question of the Gift Essays across Disciplines 9 Islam, Development, and Urban Edited by Mark Osteen Women’s Reproductive Practices Cortney Hughes Rinker 3 Decolonising Indigenous Rights Edited by Adolfo de Oliveira 10 Senses and Citizenships Embodying Political Life 4 Traveling Spirits Edited by Susanna Trnka, Migrants, Markets and Mobilities Christine Dureau, and Julie Park Edited by Gertrud Hüwelmeier and Kristine Krause 11 Environmental Anthropology Future Directions 5 Anthropologists, Indigenous Edited by Helen Kopnina and Scholars and the Research Eleanor Shoreman-Ouimet Endeavour Seeking Bridges Towards Mutual 12 Times of Security Respect Ethnographies of Fear, Edited by Joy Hendry and Protest and the Future Laara Fitznor Edited by Martin Holbraad and Morten Axel Pedersen 6 Confronting Capital Critique and Engagement in 13 Climate Change and Tradition Anthropology in a Small Island State Edited by Pauline Gardiner Barber, The Rising Tide Belinda Leach and Peter Rudiak-Gould Winnie Lem 14 Anthropology and Nature 7 Adolescent Identity Edited by Kirsten Hastrup Evolutionary, Cultural and Developmental Perspectives 15 Animism and the Question of Life Edited by Bonnie L. Hewlett Istvan Praet 16 Anthropology in the Making 19 Environmentalism, Ethical Research in Health and Trade, and Commodifi cation Development Technologies of Value and the Laurent Vidal Forest Stewardship Council in Chile 17 Negotiating Territoriality Adam Henne Spatial Dialogues Between State and Tradition 20 An Anthropology of Robots Edited by Allan Charles Dawson, and AI Laura Zanotti and Ismael Annihilation Anxiety and Vaccaro Machines Kathleen Richardson 18 HIV/AIDS and the Social Consequences of Untamed 21 An Anthropological Economy Biomedicine of Debt Anthropological Complicities Edited by Bernard Hours Graham Fordham and Pepita Ould Ahmed This page intentionally left blank An Anthropological Economy of Debt Edited by Bernard Hours and Pepita Ould Ahmed First published 2015 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2015 Taylor & Francis Originally published in France under the title Dette de qui, dette de quoi? Copyright © L’Harmattan, 2013 The right of the editors to be identifi ed as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dette de qui, dette de quoi? English An anthropological economy of debt / edited by Bernard Hours and Pepita Ould Ahmed. pages cm. — (Routledge studies in anthropology ; 21) “Originally published in France under the title Dette de qui, dette de quoi? [in 2013].” Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Debt. 2. Debt—Social aspects. 3. Economic anthropology. 4. Debt. I. Hours, Bernard. II. Ahmed, Pepita Ould. III. Title. HG3701.D39513 2015 306.3—dc23 2014045745 ISBN: 978-1-138-88883-8 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-71313-7 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by Apex CoVantage, LLC Contents List of Tables ix Acknowledgments xi 1 Introduction: Debts Shared and Imposed, Political and Gendered 1 BERNARD HOURS AND PEPITA OULD AHMED 2 Paying What One Owes . . . or Carrying Out One’s Obligations 5 PEPITA OULD AHMED 3 Debt: The Price of What, Exactly? 19 BERNARD HOURS 4 Incompatibility and Complementarity of the Chicago Plan and Alternative Monetary and Financial Mechanisms 33 JEAN-MICHEL SERVET AND TOM MOERENHOUT 5 Why Are Poor People Reluctant to Borrow? Microcredit in Rural Morocco 57 JEAN-YVES MOISSERON AND PEPITA OULD AHMED 6 Debtors and Creditors: Constructions and Delegitimization of Powers in Mali 79 F RANÇOISE BOURDARIAS 7 The Indebted State in Algeria: State Demand, Social Confl ict, and Imaginary Sources of Power 104 LAURENT BAZIN 8 The Imaginary Debt of Communism: Political Confl icts and Historical Legitimization in Romania 127 A NTOINE HEEMERYCK viii Contents 9 Indebtedness and Women’s Material, Monetary, and Imaginary Debts in the Era of Globalized Gender 149 ISABELLE GUÉRIN, MAGALIE SAUSSEY, AND MONIQUE SELIM 10 Debt, or How to Get One’s Neck Out of the Noose 169 TASSADIT YACINE 11 Perceptions of Debt and Microcredit in Senegal 181 E VELINE BAUMANN AND MOUHAMEDOUNE ABDOULAYE FALL 12 Conclusion: Debt Without End 200 B ERNARD HOURS AND PEPITA OULD AHMED Contributors 203 Index 209 Tables 5.1 Main characteristics of rural areas studied 59 5.2 Two hierarchical orders of social value, two forms of economic debt 73

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