Abstract

Anthropologies of Value analyses the creation of value in a wide range of political and cultural contexts. This edited collection includes anthropological case studies from around the globe; from the commodification of a Venezuelan waterfall to the relative value of penguins in periods of imperialist expansion.

Questioning the validity of binary oppositions such as ‘north/south’, ‘core/periphery’ and ‘west/the rest’ as the basis of generalisations about culturally-mediated engagements with capitalism, this collection leaves no stone unturned in its search to understand and define anthropological value theory.

It provides much-needed, controversial new material for students of anthropology, and proposes an alternative, rarely discussed method of studying the world system which challenges mainstream existing work in the field.
'This collection of ethnographically-informed essays from around the world turns the abstractions of globalisation theory upside down and provides new insights into the values that inform economic transactions in the world today. It is essential reading for anyone concerned with the value question in the 21st Century'
Dr Chris Gregory, Australian National University
'A provocative book ... This is a remarkable achievement and one which I hope restores economic anthropology to its former prominence as an area of inquiry.'
Jennifer Alexander, The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology