Perhaps the two most important social structures in society, especially more developed and industrialized societies such as our own, economics and political systems, represent important avenues through which culture is expressed and affected. The Miller book on Cultural Anthropology discusses the basic concepts of these structures as well as provides various examples of their relation to contemporary cultural issues. In addition, the short video, titled "Stuff", offers a simple and insightful look into these structures and the numerous issues they cause, primarily for the people being manipulated and alienated by them.
Economic anthropology represents a subfield of cultural anthropology that focuses on economic systems cross-culturally. The term economic system focuses on three ares: livelihood, consumption, and exchange. There are five modes of livelihood mentioned in the book, however, the first three (foraging, horticulture and pastoralism) are mainly practiced in developing countries and by indigenous cultures; therefore, there importance to the global importance of economic systems is less significant than the other two. Agriculture is the fourth mode of livelihood, and it is practiced primarily in developing nations as well as in the more rural and poorer regions of countries such as China.
In the globalized capitalist economic superstructure, industrial capital agriculture has taken over. In this system machinery does what human hands once did, and government subsidies guarantee a sustainable system of fewer farms produces massive amounts of food for consumption (and waste). An issue that cultural anthropologists have become aware of due to this system is the pressure placed on subsistence and family farming communities to compete with industrially advanced and subsidized farms.
The final mode of livelihood, industrialism and informatics, is best represented by industrial capitalism where most "goods are produced not to meet basic needs but to satisfy consumer demands for non essential goods". (Miller, 57) The video "Stuff" discusses this mode as a major issue due to the fact that this leads to increases in demand for resources, production of waste, and consequently damage to the environment. In addition, the video points out the alienation that people are faced with because the demand for non essential goods, caused by the capitalist system, leads to a never ending cycle of continuous buying of depreciating goods (in terms of worth financially and in sustaining happiness). In this mode, manufacturing jobs decline, and employment raises in the service occupations and information processing fields. Subsequently, unemployment becomes and increasing issue for societies following this mode, such as our own.
The dominant form of consumption in the modern world is consumerism, increased by globalization and industrialism. Inequality is the main issue caused by this mode, portrayed in the fact that the "share of total income that goes to the top 1 percent of families is nearly the same size as the total income share of the bottom 40 percent". (Miller, 60) The wealthy are then able to secure futures for their children through education and financial security.
The political and legal systems section of the book discusses various political organizations, leadership methods, social control variations, and changes in contemporary politics systems.
The book refers to politics as the organized use of public power, rather than the more private micro-politics of family and domestic groups. Power, authority, and influence are variations of how a person can achieve desired outcomes. (Miller, 160) All three terms exist in relation to other people; power represents a more hierarchical relationship, while authority and influence offer the greatest scope for cooperative decision making. The book continues to discuss social control, the process by which people maintain orderly life in groups. (Miller, 166) Norms and laws are the most commonly expressed forms of social control. A norm is an accepted standard on how people should behave and is usually unwritten and learned unconsciously. On the other hand, a law is a binding rule created through custom or official enactment that defines correct behavior and the punishment for misbehavior. (Miller, 167)
Two important terms located in this section are critical legal anthropology and the concept of social justice. The former is a cross-cultural study of legal systems that "examines the role of law and judicial processes in maintaining the dominance of powerful groups through the discriminatory practices rather than protecting members of less powerful groups". (Miller, 169) This represents an important sub field of cultural anthropology that in many ways encompasses the concept of social justice in societies. Socia justice is a "concept of fairness based on social equality that seeks to ensure entitlements and opportunities for disadvantaged members of society". (Miller, 170) In many ways the current Democratic Party in the United States has built its foundations on the concept of social justice in the American society. ObamaCare, welfare programs and entitlements, and tax raises on the wealthy represent just some of the ways that the Democratic Party has sought to progress social justice.
In many ways the video, "The Story of Stuff: Materialist Economy", encompasses the context of these two chapters on economy and politics. The video discusses the accepted linear path for discussing the movement that "stuff" goes through from production to waste. This path is misleading, however, because it fails to display the most important piece of the puzzle, people.
The video points out, for the most part, the negatives of the linear model. The first step, the taking of natural resources from third world countries and deprived regions of our own, harms the indigenous groups of those countries. Production of the goods in factories, whether at home or outsourced, harms the factory workers with the toxins produced from the natural resources. These toxins further harm the environment, another issue that humans must face due to a warming climate and environmental damage for animals (which represent a natural resource themselves). The greatest complaint the video addresses is the "golden arrow" found between the market for the produced goods and the consumers. At this stage, the government, aimed more at pleasing the corporations (who now hold a majority share of power in the global economy) than the consumers (people) they're sworn to protect, and the corporations push for constant consumption of the goods produced because our economy is based entirely on consumerism and consumption. They do so by purposefully producing goods with a shorter productivity life-span as well as through marketing for the constant consumption of newer goods. This leads to a cycle, one driven by alienation of the consumer, that is never ending.
The video addresses this cycle as the primary issue within the linear the model of production and consumption in our economy today. Environmental awareness, governmental strength and protection, and awareness on the part of the consumer are all important steps in correcting this model. If these goals are achieved, or even addressed and progressively sought after, then the once linear model will progress towards a cyclical one where fewer goods and resources are wasted and people feel less alienated and pushed to consume unwanted and needed goods.
In conclusion, the chapters on economic and political systems in the Miller book address the necessary terms and foundations of these systems in order to gain a better understanding of the global culture in reference to these points. The video, "Stuff", offers powerful insight into the way these systems coexist in our modern society. While pointing out the countless flaws in the linear model of production and consumption that the global economy faces today, the video also addresses several progressive means for adapting this cycle for the betterment of society.
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