Deck 11: Why Do Anthropologists Study Economic Relations

Question 1

The patterning of human interdependence in a given society through the actions and decisions of its members is called

A) social hierarchy.
B) social equality.
C) social organization.
D) social stratification.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Complex, variable, and enduring forms of cultural practices that organize social life are called

A) habitus.
B) institutions.
C) social organization.
D) economics.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The economic theory which represented a formal attempt to explain the workings of capitalist enterprise and paid particular attention to distribution is

A) distribution theory.
B) neoclassical economic theory.
C) Marxist economic theory.
D) commodity exchange.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Impersonal economic exchanges typical of the capitalist market in which goods are exchanged for cash are called

A) commodity exchanges.
B) gift exchanges.
C) redistributive exchanges.
D) modes of exchange.

Question 5

The exchange of goods and services of equal value is called

A) reciprocity.
B) redistribution.
C) market exchange.
D) mode of production.

Question 6

A reciprocal situation in which neither the time nor the value of return is specified is identified by anthropologists as a form of

A) generalized reciprocity.
B) balanced reciprocity.
C) negative reciprocity.
D) redistribution.

Question 7

The mode of exchange that requires some form of centralized social organization to receive economic contributions from all members of the group and to allocate them in such a way as to provide for every member of the group is called

A) reciprocity.
B) redistribution.
C) market exchange.
D) mode of production.

Question 8

The activity linking human social groups to the material world around them is referred to as

A) labor.
B) production.
C) distribution.
D) exchange.

Question 9

The tools, skills, organization, and knowledge used to extract energy from nature are the

A) means of production
B) mode of production
C) relation of production
D) subsistence strategy

Question 10

Ranked groups within a hierarchically stratified society whose membership is defined primarily in terms of wealth, occupation, or other economic criteria are called

A) classes.
B) modes of production.
C) kin.
D) statuses.

Question 11

Anthropologist I. M. Lewis compared the social organization of the northern Somalis and the Boran Galla, who live next to each other in semiarid scrubland and herd the same animals. His comparison showed that

A) environment determines social structure.
B) the Somali and Boran are quite different in social structure.
C) the Somali and the Boran speak the same language and are intermarried.
D) the Somali and the Boran work for each other in turn.

Question 12

According to Wilk and Cliggett, which model of human nature originated during the Enlightenment and is based on the assumption that individuals are first and foremost interested in their own well-being?

A) The self-interested model
B) The social model
C) The moral model
D) The religious model

Question 13

An economic system dominated by the supply-demand-price mechanism called the "market" is

A) capitalism.
B) communism.
C) market exchange.
D) redistribution.

Question 14

Noncapitalist forms of economic exchange that are deeply embedded in social relations and always require reciprocity are called

A) commodity exchanges.
B) gift exchanges.
C) redistributive exchanges.
D) modes of exchange.

Question 15

In the early twentieth century, food production in Tuscany corresponded to which of the following?

A) An egalitarian model
B) No division of labor between men and women
C) A model based on large landholdings worked by peasant laborers
D) Coca-Cola

Question 16

Carole Counihan, cited in the text, notes that her younger female interviewees were

A) liberated from having to cook and clean up after cooking by the transformations of the Italian economy.
B) sharing household tasks, including cooking, equally with their husbands.
C) expected to work for wages, but also maintain the household, including doing the cooking.
D) still doing all the food preparation for the large extended peasant family.

Question 17

The distributive process known as exchange is central to the functioning of capitalist free enterprise.

Question 18

According to Wilk and Cliggett, which model of human nature is based on the assumption that people's motivations are shaped by culturally specific belief systems and values guided by a culturally patterned view of the universe and the human place within it?

A) The self-interested model
B) The social model
C) The moral model
D) The religious model

Question 19

According to Hann and Hart, neoclassical economic theory

A) replaced the classical view of economic value as an objective property of produced commodities.
B) rejected the subjective calculations of individuals seeking to maximize their own utility.
C) was developed by Adam Smith.
D) focused on the economic views of Marcel Mauss.

Question 20

According to Wilk and Cliggett, the development of neoclassical economic theory was a key turning point in the history of economics because it

A) produced a unified position about human nature that resolved disputes that used to divide those who analyzed economic systems.
B) realized Adam Smith's original views which had previously been suppressed.
C) gave rise to the divergent theoretical positions on human nature about which economic anthropologists continue to disagree.
D) finally paid attention to the economic views of Marcel Mauss.

Question 21

The bulk of Carole Counihan's data on food and nutrition in Tuscany came from

A) old restaurant menus from nineteenth-century Florence.
B) food-centered life histories from individuals from different generations.
C) cook-books written by important Tuscan chefs in the early twentieth century.
D) interviews with nutritionists at Italian universities.

Question 22

The three major phases of economic activity are production, distribution, and consumption.

Question 23

"Goods assembled in ownership make physical, visible statements about the hierarchy of values to which their chooser subscribes." Explain what this statement means for the anthropological study of objects and provide in your response.

Question 24

Define the concept of mode of production, and describe and discuss the three major modes of production outlined by Eric Wolf.

Question 25

Discuss the consumption of Western market commodities throughout the world in our current era of globalization. In your answer, pay attention to how commodities are used, as well as to the effects of contemporary economic institutions on most of the world's population.

Question 26

Describe the different modes of exchange operating in the society of the United States. What are their interrelationships with one another? Provide examples for each mode of exchange. How do they interact with each other?

Question 27

Analyze what is meant by the claim that consumption needs are culturally shaped. Illustrate your analysis with examples.

Question 28

Describe and discuss the elements in Marshall Sahlins's argument about "the original affluent society." How do these elements compare and contrast with your own society? What does this mean for production, distribution, and consumption in the contemporary world?