EHESS

Queries on Cultural Capitalism (Du capitalisme culturel)

L'esprit d'entreprise au Cameroun by Jean-Pierre Warnier; Itinraires d'accumulation au
Cameroun/Pathways to Accumulation in Cameroon by Peter Geschiere; Piet Konings; La
rinvention du capitalisme by Jean-Franois Bayart
Review by: Janet Roitman
Cahiers d'tudes Africaines, Vol. 35, Cahier 138/139 (1995), pp. 629-645
Published by: EHESS
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CHRONIQUE BIBLIOGRAPHIQUE
Janet Roitman
Qu er ies on Cu l tu r al Capital is m*
The end of the Col d War has pr ovoked a s cr ambl e within mos t dis cipl ines of the
s ocial s ciences to l ocate and inter pr et the moving for ces of 'gl obal ization', u nder -
s tood, for the mos t par t, to be gr ou nded in the extens ion of capital is m to a wor l d
s cal e. The common pr obl matiqu e has been defined in ter ms of the dis ju nctu r e
between national ter r itor ies or s pher es of au thor ity and s u pr anational , tr ans na-
tional , r egional and s u br egional agents of s ocial and economic exchange and r eg-
u l ation, as wel l as cu l tu r al pr odu ction (exampl es incl u de fir ms , inter national
banks , r el igiou s commu nities , dias por as ). However , the var iou s dis cipl ines take
on the tas k in many manner s : inter national r el ations theor is ts and pol itical econo-
mis ts have tu r ned their s ites on the inter - or mu l tinational ization of non-s tate
entities (capital and l abor mar kets , cr edit and finance s tr u ctu r es ); s chol ar s wor k-
ing fr om within the 'cu l tu r al s tu dies ' r u br ic examine the l ogics of l ate capital is m
and deter r itor ial ization, honing in on tr ans for mations r el ated to the effects of
novel media, the cir cu l ation of var iou s commodity for ms , the dis s emination and
r eappr opr iation of cu l tu r al idioms and s ignifying r eper toir es as s ociated with
emer gent commu nities and pu bl ic s pher es ; and anthr opol ogis ts have moved fr om
s tu dies pos tu l ating s eemingl y l ocal ized, time-bou nd commu nities to appr ehend-
ing how s u ch commu nities ar e cons titu ted in tr ans national fl ows and how thos e
fl ows affect l ocal ized exper ience, thu s affir ming that 'the tr u th of exper ience no
l onger coincides with the pl ace in which it takes pl ace' (James on 1988: 351).
This fl u r r y of intel l ectu al activity has gener ated mu ch inter es ting wor k on the
l ogics of gl obal ization. And yet concl u s ions abou t the homogenizing effects of
gl obal ization ar e cons tantl y thr eatened by dail y headl ines attes ting to compl i-
cated and often viol ent pr oces s es of s egmentation, factional ization, and fr ag-
mentation. Thes e movements ar e s aid to cir cu mvent and u nder mine the
nation-s tate for m, and yet the ins titu tional ization of their diver s e effects is not
yet cl ear l y dis cer nibl e at the inter national l evel . Hence whil e the above-
des cr ibed l iter atu r e does attempt to accou nt for the per vas ive natu r e of thes e
cou nter tendencies , thu s fu r ther pr obl ematizing the homogenization r eading of
Concer ning Jean-Pier r e WARNIER, L'es pr it d'entr epr is e au Camer ou n (Par is :
Kar thal a), 1993, 312 p. ('Les Afr iqu es ); Peter GESCHIERE & Piet KONINGS, eds ,
Itiner air es d'accu mu l ation au Camer ou n/Pathways to Accu mu l ation in Came-
r oon (Par is : Kar thal a), 1993, 393 p., bibl . ('Hommes et s ocietes '); and Jean-
Fr anqois
BAYART, ed., La r einvention du capital is me (Par is : Kar thal a), 1993,
256 p. ('Hommes et s ocietes '). This ar ticl e benefited fr om the cr itical eye of
A. Mbembe. Al l tr ans l ations fr om Fr ench ar e my own.
Cahier s d'tItu des afr icaines , 138-139, XXXV-2-3, 1995, pp. 629-645.
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630 JANET ROITMAN
inter national ization, ther e is l ittl e cons ens u s as to the natu r e of thes e contr a-
dictor y pr oces s es . What is needed, it s eems , ar e s er iou s , detail ed empir ical
s tu dies docu menting the var iou s s cenar ios being pr odu ced ou t of thes e tens ions ,
l eading to the r econfigu r ation of economic, cu l tu r al and pol itical s paces .
Thr ee r ecent r es pons es to s u ch an endeavor ar e Jean-Pier r e War nier 's L'es pr it
d'entr epr is e au Camer ou n; the vol u me edited by Peter Ges chier e and Piet Konings
entitl ed Itiner air es d'accu mu l ation au Camer ou n,' and Jean-Fr ancois Bayar t's
edited vol u me, La r einvention du capital is me. Thes e wor ks ar e bol d initiatives in
the examination of s ome of the above-des cr ibed effects of gl obal ization thr ou gh
empir ical s tu dies of contempor ar y s itu ations . The fir s t two ar e cir cu ms cr ibed by
the (not u npr obl ematic) s tate of Camer oon; the l atter incl u des s tu dies fr om
var iou s r egions (India, Ir an, Camer oon, China, Centr al As ia, Ru s s ia). Al l thr ee
vol u mes offer a cr itiqu e of anal ys es (and hence r epr es entations ) of capital is m as a
u niver s al categor y, thu s taking is s u e with the homogenization nar r ative of gl obal -
ization and capital is t his tor y, and the concomitant as s er tion of the inevitabil ity of
the u nil inear integr ation of l ocal , 'tr adition'-bou nd commu nities into the gl obal
s pace-time of moder nity. By as s u ming the now gener al l y accepted pr opos ition
that 'tr adition' and 'moder nity' ar e not mu tu al l y excl u s ive categor ies , thes e s tu -
dies demons tr ate that s ocial for ces (often as s u med to be manifes tations of 'tr adi-
tion') ar e not inimical to either the devel opment of capital is m in cer tain l ocal con-
texts or the integr ation of s u ch l ocal ities into the gl obal capital is t economy. They
docu ment r egional exper iences and inventions of capital is t accu mu l ation and,
above al l , moder nity. In this s ens e, they ar e inr oads to a phenomenol ogy of
accu mu l ation. Fr om a s ociol ogy of action (d l a Tou r aine), they accou nt for tr a-
jector ies of accu mu l ation that do not r epl icate the exper ience of Wes ter n capital -
is t commu nities ; emer gent categor ies (e g l abor ) and for ms of mediation (e g
money) es s ential to the r ecent his tor y of capital is m; and the s tr u ctu r ing of the
exper ience of capital is m and moder nity by, for ins tance, extant s emantic fiel ds ,
his tor ical identities , pol itical l ogics , and his tor ical modes of l egitimation.
War nier 's L'es pr it d'entr epr is e au Camer ou n is an inqu ir y into the 'invention
of Afr ican entr epr is e'. His s tu dy per tains , in fact, to the Bamil eke of Wes ter n
Camer oon, who ar e wel l -known for their pr opens ity for economic accu mu l a-
tion. War nier examines the tr ans for mation of the Bamil eke entr epr eneu r ial
'ethos ' in its pas s age fr om one gener ation to another . He demons tr ates that the
Bamil eke 'entr epr eneu r ial l ogic' invol ves cer tain pr actices
s u ch as s avings (hence
u nder cons u mption and an ethic of au s ter ity), inves tment (hence r egu l ar ity
of
r evenu es ), independence fr om the s tate (no s al ar ied pos itions ), migr ation s tr ate-
gies and a high l evel of pr ofes s ional mobil ity. Thes e pr actices ar e expl ained
accor ding to two r egis ter s : the 's ociol ogical ', per taining to individu al migr ations
and car eer paths , and the 'cu l tu r al ', which r el ates to Bamil eke mer cantil e tr adi-
tions and the 'notabil ity ethos ' ('ethos de l a notabil it6'). This ethos is es s ential to
the r epr odu ction of Bamil eke s tr ategies of accu mu l ation; it is the mode of l egit-
imation of accu mu l ation and of s ocial and gener ational inequ al ities .
Ul timatel y, Bamil eke s ociety is s aid to be defined by an economy of r eten-
tion whil e the economies of Camer oonian for es t s ocieties ar e bas ed on
l ogics
of
1. In a cos mopol itan and thor ou ghl y Eu r opean s pir it, this is a bil ingu al edition, the
Engl is h titl e being Pathways to Accu mu l ation in Camer oon.
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QUERIES ON CULTURAL CAPITALISM 631
cons u mption (War nier , p. 112). And whil e one might qu es tion the oppos ition
between r etens ion and cons u mption-inqu ir ing ins tead as to how tendencies
towar d one pr actice or another ar e pr odu ced in any given his tor ical conju nc-
tu r e-War nier , in keeping with a s ociol ogy of action, pos its the entr epr eneu r as
agent and hence attempts to accou nt for the l atter 's capacity to deter mine a
s pecific tr ajector y in the context of given cu l tu r al r eper toir es and his tor ical pos -
s ibil ities (s ee ibid., chap. 2). He tu r ns , then, to the economy of des ir e that
u nder pins val u es of au s ter ity and s avings (chap. 4). War nier es tabl is hes a cor -
r es pondence between economic au s ter ity and s exu al au s ter ity, and goes on to
dis tingu is h au s ter ity fr om an 'economy of r epr odu ction'. This dis tinction is
what differ entiates cel ibate ju nior s -who mu s t abs tain (s exu al l y and with r es -
pect to cons u mption) in or der to accu mu l ate-fr om pol ygamou s notabl es . The
Bamil eke notabl e, or head of the famil y, has the power to engender via the pr ac-
tice of r etention; the s pecificity of the Bamil eke notion of r etention is , accor ding
to War nier , mos t aptl y s ignified by the fact that car ved r ecipients ar e r epr es enta-
tions of mas cu l inity (cf. ibid., cover photo and p. 129).
War nier thu s demons tr ates how idioms , metaphor s and r epr es entations
es s ential to the pr odu ction and r egu l ation of l ong s tanding s ocio-pol itical or ga-
nizations ar e whol l y fu nctional in and as par t of moder nity. The ways in which
s u ch idioms or metaphor s ar e mobil ized and r eappr opr iated gives ins ight
into the pr oces s of the domes tication of moder nity (cf. pp. 157-162). Her e,
War nier 's cl aim that, in Camer oon, 'the domes tication of impor ted moder nity'
invol ves its 'au tonomization' fr om its s ou r ces (p. 165) br ings u s back to Jame-
s on's comment on the dis ju nctu r e between the tr u th of l ocal ized exper ience and
the s ou r ces of the pr odu ction of that tr u th. Whil e not denying the au tonomou s
natu r e of expr es s ions of Camer oonian moder nity, the ver y pr oces s of au tonomi-
zation mu s t be pr obl ematized: how do tr ans for mations at the s ou r ce (e g the
metr opol e, the exter nal l y-defined cons u mer mar ket) affect the pr odu ction of
Camer oonian moder nity? And, mor e impor tantl y, how ar e l ocal l y defined
meanings of moder nity cir cu l ated in a l ar ger r egional s ens e, eventu al l y attaining
s ome 'exchange val u e' in the gl obal mar ket of (pos t)moder n for ms ? In any
cas e, thes e qu es tions might have r el evance to War nier 's concl u s ion that the pr o-
du ction of inequ al ities in Bamil eke s ociety, as s tr u ctu r ed and l egitimated in the
ins titu tion of the chiefdom and its 'notabil ity ethos ', has been al ter ed du e to the
notabl es ' inabil ity to maintain pr etens ions to a 'monopol y over the al l ocation of
r es ou r ces and the penal ties and u l timate u s es of occu l t for ces ' (ibid., p. 217).
This pr es u ppos es tr ans for mations in modes of l egitimation and r ais es the qu es -
tion of the you nger gener ation's s u bver s ion of extant r egimes of tr u th-an oper -
ation entail ing al ter native s ou r ces of tr u th val u e. However , having s aid that,
War nier 's ins is tence on the du r abil ity of the Bamil eke hier ar chy (s u bver s ion
l eading to its 'r einvention' not el imination) does attes t to its 'dynamis m' in 'the
face of a changing mar ket', and confir ms that moder nity is as mu ch a 'cons e-
qu ence of the maintenance of ol d inequ al ities ' (p. 199) as their el imination.
This l atter point is neatl y u nder s cor ed in the edited vol u me by Ges chier e and
Konings . This col l ection of empir ical s tu dies of s pecific modes of accu mu l ation
and the cons equ ent pr odu ction of new inequ al ities in Camer oon is an expl or a-
tion of the ways in which pr eexis ting modes ar ticu l ate with emer gent ones .
Thes e ar ticl es r es pond to hegemonic r epr es entations of the s u ppos edl y natu r al
qu al ity of exchange and accu mu l ation (and hence of capital is m as a u ni-
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632 JANET ROITMAN
ver s al categor y). In contr as t to the view that the mar ket and civil s ociety exis t
as au tonomou s ins titu tions char acter ized by their own cau s al l aws and modes of
or ganization, the his tor ical and mu tu al cons titu tion of the s tate and the mar ket,
or the s tate and s ociety, is inves tigated thr ou gh an appr oach to s u ch ins titu tions
'fr om bel ow'. Thu s the 's u bter r anean' power of the s tate in s ociety and the
power of s ociety to s u bs u me the s tate (i e via r edis tr ibu tion) ar e expl or ed in a
r es ol u te effor t to over come s tate-s ociety (and s tate-mar ket) dichotomies . This
is es pecial l y per tinent s ince mu ch r ecent s chol ar s hip and pol icy-making r es ts on
s u ch an as s u mption, l eading to cl aims that accu mu l ation taking pl ace 'ou ts ide'
the s tate is equ ival ent to nas cent capital is m and that s ocial for ces coal es cing
'ou ts ide' the s tate ar e the bas es for 'mar ket democr acy'.2 The two s ets of qu es -
tions that expl icitl y infor m the cas e s tu dies pr es ented in the book ar e thu s : 1)
'What is the exact r el ation between s tate and accu mu l ation? Do modes of
accu mu l ation r eal l y take pl ace "ou ts ide" the s tate or do they cons titu te infor mal
or even il l egal excr es cences of the s tate?' and 2) 'Which r egional var iations
occu r in the gr afting of new for ms of accu mu l ation onto exis ting patter ns of
or ganization?' (Ges chier e & Konings , p. 27).
The idea of r egional var iations pl aces emphas is on indigenou s for ms of
accu mu l ation and the diver s e ways in which r es u l tant s ocial inequ al ities ar e l e-
gitimated or contes ted by l ocal commu nities and s u b-s tate s ites of power . It
al s o al l ows for an accou nt of var iou s tr ajector ies within nation-s tate bou ndar ies ,
thu s fu r ther ing a cr itiqu e of the as s u mption that s u ch fr ontier s s hou l d cir cu m-
s cr ibe ou r u nits or fiel ds of anal ys is . The notion of 's tr addl ing'3_which
expl ains s u cces s in the for mal and infor mal economies in ter ms of an agent's
abil ity to maintain foothol ds in both the pu bl ic and pr ivate s ector s , the for mer
being es s ential to acces s , mobil ity and achievement in the l atter -is taken as a
point of depar tu r e s ince it il l u minates the myr iad pos s ibil ities for var ying modes
of accu mu l ation. Thes e s tr ategies ar e, however , s tr u ctu r ed by differ ent l ocal
s ocial and pol itical fiel ds , l eading, in tu r n, to a his tor ical s cheme of r egional
var iations (cf. ibid., pp. 13-15).
The s tr addl ing techniqu es pu r s u ed by agents in their r el ations to the pu bl ic
and pr ivate s ector s ar e examined with r es pect to Bamil eke entr epr eneu r s of
Wes ter n Camer oon (Miaffo & War nier , pp. 33-69) and the angl ophone
com-
mu nity of Bamenda (Rowl ands , pp. 71-97). The for mer cas e confir ms the
s tr addl ing r u l e. However , the gener al ized opinion that contempor ar y
Afr ican
economies ar e defined by the u npr odu ctive inves tment of r es ou r ces 4 (i e, inves t-
ment in s ocial networ ks to maintain s ocial or s tatu s pos itions ) is chal l enged by
the exampl e of Bamil eke mer chants who, fr om s u ch pos itions . inves t pr odu c-
tivel y in the pl antation economy and, mor e r ecentl y, s mal l indu s tr ies . In the
s econd cas e, the s tr addl ing r u l e has been r edefined over time. The his tor ical
excl u s ion of Angl ophones fr om the s tate r es u l ted in the cons tr u ction of net-
wor ks and as s ociations bas ed on idioms of kin and ethnicity that cr os s cu t the
s tate/s ociety oppos ition; in cir cu mventing the s tate for finance, angl ophone
2. For a cr itiqu e of thes e views , cf. J. ROITMAN 1990.
3. A ter m or iginal l y s et for th by M. COWEN in his wor k on Kenya (1977)
and l ater
appl ied by J.-F. BAYART (1989) in his anal ys is of the pos tcol onial s tate in Afr ica.
4. Cf. S. BERRY 1985.
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QUERIES ON CULTURAL CAPITALISM 633
entr epr eneu r s moved into commer cial manu factu r ing by u til izing expatr iate
technical s u ppor t and per s onal ties to for eign bu s ines s fir ms . Mor e r ecentl y,
the angl ophone dis tinction of excl u s ion fr om and avoidance of the s tate has been
tr ans for med, as cr edit s u ppl ies depend incr eas ingl y on acces s to gover nment s al -
ar ies as s ecu r ity. Hence a s econd gener ation of entr epr eneu r s now pu r s u e
s tr addl ing techniqu es , confir ming the impact of s tr u ctu r al changes at the
national and inter national l evel s (e g debt-cr edit fl ows ) on l ocal ized r egimes of
accu mu l ation.
Str addl ing al s o cons titu tes a mode of accu mu l ation in-and-of-its el f; changes
in the for ms of r ents contr ol l ed by the s tate thu s potential l y tr ans for m bas es of
capital and weal th. In a s tu dy of the pol itics of oil r ents , Ju a (in ibid., pp. 131-
159) inves tigates s tr u ggl es center ed abou t the pos tcol onial s tate and s hows how,
becau s e the s tate is the pr imar y l ocu s for u pwar d mobil ity, s tr addl ing l eads to its
pr ivatization. The natu r e of the r egime of accu mu l ation defined by the s tate
has , however , impeded the es tabl is hment of its r el ative au tonomy vis -a-vis the
inter national commu nity via petr ol r ents (Val l ee, pp. 161-185). Thu s the tu r n,
in the l ate 1980s , to debt financing impl ied a change in economic r egime.
However , s ince the pu bl ic s ector r emained the pr imar y s ite of pr ivatization, the
pr ivate appr opr iation of pu bl ic r es ou r ces was not s ignificantl y modified by a
change in the bas is for enr ichment. Debt der ived fr om inter national and
pu bl ic-wor ks mar kets has r epl aced pu bl ic entr epr is e as the l ocu s of capital
accr u al . By taking into accou nt the s tate as a matr ix of accu mu l ation and the
ways in which s tr ategies of weal th cr eation ar e s tr u ctu r ed by power r el ations ,
thes e chapter s indicate how the s ocial and mater ial fou ndations of the s tate defy
the u npr obl ematic tel eol ogy of capital is t devel opment.
This tel eol ogy is fu r ther pr obl ematized in the ar ticl es attending to the
dynamics of r egional r egimes of accu mu l ation and, mor e s pecifical l y, the ways in
which pr eexis ting modes ar ticu l ate with emer gent ones . Hence l evel ing
mechanis ms that wor k agains t cer tain ways of amas s ing weal th and cons equ en-
tial s tr atification can in fact be r efigu r ed. Imper atives for r edis tr ibu tion oper a-
ting within the famil y s pher e ar e over come by Bamil eke entr epr eneu r s thr ou gh
novel s avings s tr ategies (Miaffo & War nier ). And kin and ethnic affil iations
ar e per fectl y fu nctional for Bamenda capital is ts in their cons tr u ction of finance
networ ks , defying the Weber ian point that the devel opment of moder n capital -
is m depends on the tr ans for mation of s u bs tantive r ational ity and hence the l ogic
of economic action (Rowl ands in Ges chier e & Konings , p. 71). This cr itiqu e is
r eiter ated by Ges chier e and Fis iy in their as s er tion that 'l ocal bel iefs ar e con-
fir med in s pite of, or r ather thanks to, moder n changes ' (p. 112). Thr ou gh
r egional compar is ons of the r el ations hip between s or cer y and accu mu l ation,
they demons tr ate the ambigu ou s natu r e of s u ppos edl y 'tr aditional ' categor ies .
Sor cer y bel iefs and pr actices can s er ve to ar ticu l ate and r epr es ent the danger s
inher ent in new for ms of weal th, thu s del egitimizing new methods of amas s ing
weal th and their attendant inequ al ities , or incite capital accr u al -even becoming
the expr es s ion of a 'cu l t of accu mu l ation'-hence l egitimizing the pr odu ction of
new inequ al ities bas ed on new for ms of weal th and power . Ul timatel y, then,
thes e r egional var iations ar e bou nd u p in his tor ical conju nctu r es (e g appear ance
of new for ms of weal th) and yet their tr ajector ies ar e dependent on the l egit-
imating l ogics of l ocal power s tr u ctu r es .
Final l y, the point that cer tain for ms of s eemingl y u npr odu ctive activities ar e
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634 JANET ROITMAN
not neces s ar il y incommens u r ate with accu mu l ation, and that the pr odu ction of
s tatu s thr ou gh s ymbol ic capital is l ikewis e es s ential to capital accu mu l ation in
the s tr icter s ens e is addr es s ed with r es pect to pos s ibil ities and imper atives for
accu mu l ation amongs t Camer oonian women. Van Santen (in ibid., pp. 301-
334) confir ms that s ymbol ic capital is pr odu ctive accor ding to cer tain r egis ter s of
weal th and s tatu s in her as s er tion that 's tatu s pays ' (p. 325). She qu es tions the
oppos ition between economic pr ofit and s ocial s tatu s : Mafa women who conver t
to Is l am enter into intens e and cos tl y exchanges of mar r iage gifts in or der to
affir m their s tatu s as Mu s l im women; and this s tatu s becomes , in tu r n, a pr ivi-
l eged s ite of accu mu l ation. Goheen (pp. 241-271) examines how the mater ial
weal th pr odu ced by women in Ns o is tr ans for med by men into s ymbol ic capital ;
new matr imonial s tr ategies ins pir e by changes in mater ial conditions have not
s u bver ted configu r ations of power ins titu tional ized by men. Likewis e, Hol te-
dahl (pp. 273-300) cons ider s the metamor phos is of the ins titu tion of mar r iage
and its impact on s ocial s tr atification as new for ms of knowl edge (Wes ter n edu -
cation) inter pl ay with thos e offer ed by famil iar r el igiou s and ethnic commu ni-
ties . Evidentl y, changes in mater ial conditions or for ms of knowl edge r es u l ting
fr om the impact of l ar ger s tr u ctu r es on l ocal ities l eads to the r econfigu r ation, bu t
not demis e, of l ong s tanding ins titu tions .
La r einvention du capital is me, edited by J.-F. Bayar t, is an expl or ation of this
l atter theme fr om the per s pectives of many geogr aphical s ites and dis cipl inar y
vantage points . As Bayar t s tates , al ongs ide capital is t penetr ation and the inte-
gr ation of l ocal economies into the gl obal capital is t economy, one witnes s es 'the
r epr odu ction of for ms of accu mu l ation and expl oitation that exhibit ambigu ou s
r el ations hips to capital is m' (p. 11). The 'r einvention of capital is m' r efer s , in
fact, to Weber 's concer ns with the s ou r ces of the 'ir r ational ' el ement in the cap-
ital is t s pir it (eg dedication to wor k). Al l u s ions to Cas tor iadis ar e, however ,
evident in the as s er tion that the 'tr ans pl ant of capital is m to s ocieties ou ts ide the
Wes t is al s o a par t of an imaginar y ('imaginair e'), and of its s ocial pr actices '
(p. 20). The pr obl em of 'cu l tu r e' in s ocioeconomic tr ans for mation is appr e-
hended fr om this par ticu l ar per s pective. It is not a given, s tatic categor y-and
hence either a wel l s pr ing or impediment to economic tr ans for mation-bu t is
r ather cons tantl y invented thr ou gh mu tu al pr oces s es of excl u s ion, inter action
and incl u s ion between commu nities in the his tor ical l ong ter m ('l ongu e du r ee').
The par adox of the r ational ization pr oces s l ies , then, in the invention of moder -
nity: that is , 'the u niver s al ization of the "capital is t mode of thou ght"
does
not r eal l y amou nt to a l os s of s ens e in s ocial r el ations hips , a "dis enchanted
wor l d"...' (Bayar t, p. 249).
Thu s , in cons onance with the two wor ks r eviewed above, this vol u me
expl or es the ins titu tional ization of a capital is t economy via 'tr aditional ' modes
of action. Obl igations of r ecipr ocity have endu r ed modifications in the or gani-
zation of pr odu ction br ou ght on by the r efor m pr oces s
in China;
in
fact,
the s ets
of common inter es ts that ar e dr amatized by s u ch pr actices ar e affir med in this
emer ging context (Rocca, pp. 47-72). The monetization of r ites invol ving
kin-
s hip r el ations in Camer oon has pr odu ced
a ver itabl e 'kins hip mar ket'; indeed,
the intens ification of monetized r el ations du r ing the col onial per iod r el ied on
pr eexis ting networ ks of kin r el ations and al l iances that wer e centr al to the exten-
s ion of one's commer cial networ k (Ges chier e in Bayar t, pp. 87-113). The r el e-
gitimation of the Centr al As ian kol khoz s ys tem (a mediating ins titu tion be-
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QUERIES ON CULTURAL CAPITALISM
635
tween Centr al As ian peas ants and the Soviet s tate) in ter ms of Is l am has
r es u l ted in its au tonomization fr om its or iginal ideol ogical cadr e, al l owing this
ins titu tion to per s is t whil e being tr ans for med (Roy, pp. 73-86). Likewis e, the
pr actice of the gift in Teher an (Adel khah, pp. 117-144) and in India (Jaffr el ot,
pp. 145-172) ar e fu l l y fu nctional as pects of economic moder nity. Fu r ther mor e,
Jaffr el ot s hows how pu bl ic acts of char ity-which ar e both r el igiou s and civic
pr actices -ar e integr al to the entr epr eneu r ial l ogics of Hindu mer chants in
India.
Many of the contr ibu tor s to this vol u me anal yze not onl y the mechanis ms of
ar ticu l ation between ol d and new for ms , bu t al s o the l egitimation of pr ivate
accu mu l ation and capital is t r el ations in ar eas u nder going dr amatic s hifts in their
or ientation to the capital is t wor l d economy. Rocca finds that 's ocial confl ict
within l ocal commu nities now cr ys tal l izes ar ou nd new pos s ibil ities for accu mu -
l ation' (p. 67). Differ ent s ector s of the s ociety (e g bu r eau cr ats vs citizens ) have
diver gent views on new ways of amas s ing weal th and economic s u cces s . Thu s ,
for exampl e, whil e accu mu l ation invol ving the mobil ization of gu anxi5 r el ations
is gener al l y condemned, 's u cces s via tal ent' is now acceptabl e. However , Rocca
concl u des that, 'even if one dis cer ns new for ms of l egitimation of s ocial s u cces s
center ed ar ou nd the notion of per s onal tal ent, onl y accu mu l ation for r edis tr ibu -
tion s eems to be accepted by the l ocal popu l ation as a whol e' (p. 70). One can
concl u de that the tr ans for mative power of ancient ins titu tions means that they
ar e in no way inimical to the intens ification of capital is t r el ations , bu t the modes
of l egitimating r econfigu r ed s ocial r el ations hips ar e indicative of the s pecificity
of any one his tor ical for m of capital is m being ins titu tional ized today.
And whil e this pr oces s may r es u l t in the ins titu tional ization of new inequ al -
ities , new for ms of accu mu l ation and economic r el ations may be l egitimated to
the extent that they ar e appr opr iated by and bol s ter ol d patter ns of s ocial s tr at-
ification. In Eas ter n Camer oon, the 'penetr ation of money into the ver y hear t
of r itu al pr actice' (e g fu ner al r ites ) meant that new pos s ibil ities for enr ichment
wer e integr ated into the ver y s ites wher e s ocial r el ations ar e negotiated. Thos e
for ms of or ganization wer e r einfor ced to the advantage of el der s who contr ol l ed
r itu al pr actice, and the cir cu l ation and accu mu l ation of women and pr es tige
goods ; their ar ticu l ation with the emer gent mar ket was ther efor e accentu ated
(Ges chier e in Bayar t). The qu es tion of l egitimation, it s eems , is centr al to the
dir ection of capital is t tr ans for mation. This is evident in the debates des cr ibed
by Rou s s el et (in ibid., pp. 203-226) over the evol u tion of the contempor ar y Ru s -
s ian economy, which ar e center ed on is s u es s u ch as the 'Ru s s ian tr adition', the
'civil izing' r ol e of the Wes t vs that of Ru s s ia its el f, As ian vs Eu r opean s ou r ces of
Soviet identity, the Ru s s ian s pir itu al and economic r enais s ance, inter pr etations
of 'ju s t and mor al ' economic activity, etc. Thes e ar e r epr es entations of Ru s s ian
his tor y and s ociety. Thos e that become hegemonic wil l deter mine what types
of r el ations hips , inequ al ities and pr actices ar e cons ider ed pr oper , l ogical , r eas on-
abl e and 'natu r al ', and ar e thu s ins titu tional ized in the pr oces s of capital is t tr ans -
for mation, or not.
One way of appr ehending that pr oces s is thr ou gh anal ys is of categor ies of
mediation between ins titu tions and s ocial r el ations . Thes e can take on many
5. Gu anxi: A networ k of par ental , pr ofes s ional and s ocial r el ations .
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636 JANET ROITMAN
for ms , s u ch as money (Ges chier e); finance, cr edit and debt s tr u ctu r es (War nier
in ibid., pp. 175-201), ins tances in which l ocal commu nities ar e l inked to the s tate
(Roy, pp. 73-86) and economic identities . The l atter oper ate as s chemes of
action, often contr ibu ting to the ins titu tional ization of new economic activities
via the l egitimizing effects of his tor ical r egis ter s of appr opr iate behavior .
Hence with the br eakdown of the pl anned economy and the dis or ganization of
the s tate, kol khoz notabl es have become es s ential economic agents ; their (vs the
appar atchiks ') enr ichment and r ecent commer cial endeavor s ar e u nder s tood and
accepted with r efer ence to the his tor ical identity of notabl es cons tr u cted in Mu s -
l im pr actice and kol khoz s ol idar ity (Roy). The mediator s of moder nity in Ir an
cons tantl y r eactu al ize 'a his tor ical ethic in the contempor ar y economic context'
(Adel khah, p. 127). Her e, the economic identity of the javdnmar d6 is a his tor -
ical r efer ent whos e ethical l exicon incl u des r epr es entations of gener os ity, gift-
giving, s acr ifice, s ociabil ity and s ocial dis tinction-al l of which cir cu ms cr ibe a
fiel d of appr opr iate actions and r el ations . Likewis e, the identity of the entr e-
pr eneu r in the Ru s s ian s ocial imaginar y is pr odu ced ou t of many 'cu l tu r al s u b-
s tr ata' of Ru s s ian and non-Ru s s ian or igin (Rou s s el et).
In s u m, the r ich and detail ed cas e s tu dies pr es ented in the thr ee vol u mes
r eviewed her e docu ment 'al ter native' for ms of accu mu l ation and capital is t eco-
nomic or ganization thr ou gh anal ys is of the ways in which s u ch for ms ar e being
pr odu ced, pr acticed and l egitimated in the contempor ar y wor l d context. As
noted above, the au thor s ' tu r n to a his tor ical s ociol ogy of action and the pr ivil e-
ging of the 'meaning of action' ('s ens de l 'action') is ins pir ed by a r ejection of the
over deter minis m inher ent in both s tr u ctu r al is m and cu l tu r al r edu ctionis m. The
l atter -which r es ts on the pr es u ppos ition that cu l tu r al invar iants deter mine
action-is a par ticu l ar l y tenaciou s mode of u nder s tanding the l ogics of contem-
por ar y commu nities in their r el ations to gl obal capital is m. Thes e s tu dies offer a
cor r ective to s u ch inter pr etations by inves tigating how his tor ical r efer ents and
cu l tu r al r eper toir es infor m and cir cu ms cr ibe pos s ibil ities for action, or fiel ds of
action. This u l timatel y invol ves examination of cu l tu r al l y cons titu ted s u bject-
pos itions (agency) and s ocio-economic or pol itical or ganizations (s tr u ctu r e).
Ther efor e, even thou gh by 'cu l tu r e' they impl y a fiel d of his tor ical l y cons titu ted
cons tr aints , thes e s tu dies have not in fact tr ans gr es s ed the methodol ogical and
theor etical qu andar ies inher ent in pos iting 'cu l tu r e' as an au tonomou s -and
hence potential l y deter mining-categor y s ince they do not attempt to at l eas t
cl ar ify their pos itioning with r es pect to the age-ol d s tr u ctu r e-agency pr obl em.7
Cu l tu r al Stas is and Incoher ent Action
The incons is tencies pr odu ced ou t of this ambival ence ar e manifes t in many
of
the chapter s of al l thr ee vol u mes . They s tem es s ential l y fr om the fail u r e to
6. A javanmar d is a you ng man who r epr es ents an 'exis tential ethic' or 's tyl e of
i fe'
(.126).
1 o
7. This theor etical 'pr obl ematiqu e' is mos t notabl y as s ociated with the s ociol ogy of
A. GIDDENS (1979); his s tr u ctu r ation theor y has been a gr eat object of debate,
its r el ations hip to pos t-empir icis t phil os ophy being of u ncer tain s tatu s .
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QUERIES ON CULTURAL CAPITALISM 637
pr obl ematize the coher ent, intending s u bject.8 However , the mor e immediate
is s u e of pos iting cu l tu r e in ter ms of coher ence (even whil e avoiding as s u mptions
as to its s tatic and ahis tor ical natu r e) is evident in the per s is tent u s e of notions
s u ch as an 'economic ethos ', a 'mor al economy' or 'economy of affection', and
'the gift'. Rocca, for ins tance, r efer s to an economic ethos which he defines as
an 'economic mental ity' dis tinctive of the Chines e peas antr y (p. 51). He br ings
Scott's 'mor al economy' (1976) to Weber 's u nder s tanding of the Chines e col l ec-
tive: as oppos ed to being bas ed on the idea of pr ofit-s eeking for col l ective ends
(Weber ), the notion of gain is in fact s econdar y to the peas antr y. Obl igations
of r ecipr ocity (the bas is of the mor al economy) pr evail to the extent that the
ethic of r ecipr ocity dominates the danwei, or wor k es tabl is hments . Tr adition
(r ecipr ocity) is r einvented in the ver y s ite of moder nity (the danwei). And yet
this non-s tatic appr ais al of cu l tu r e and change is bas ed on a Scottian notion of
s ocial or der ', or what Rocca cal l s the 's ocial is t mor al economy'. Cu l tu r e is ,
then, the bas is for s ocial or der . This is cl ear l y an ar gu ment for the coher ence,
and hence per s is tent natu r e, of cu l tu r e; it r ais es the qu es tion of how 's ocial
or der ' is its el f pr odu ced in confl ict, thr ou gh the cir cu ms cr ibing of differ ence in
cu l tu r al r epr es entations .9 Simil ar l y, whil e Adel khah examines how the 'ethic'
as s ociated with the javdnmar d is actu al ized in his tor y, s he does not accou nt for
au thor ized voice: which s egments of s ociety pr odu ce hegemonic inter pr etations
of this ethic? What ar e the s ites for the pr odu ction of al ter native inter pr eta-
tions ? And how ar e thes e al ter natives mar ginal ized or ter med il l egitimate and
s u bver s ive? This is the incoher ence in cu l tu r e; and this pol itics of cu l tu r e is what
accou nts for its non-s tatic, tr ans for mative qu al ity.10
And ju s t as notions of an 'ethic' or 'mor al economy' ar e u s ed to tr ace (often
br il l iantl y) the 'par adoxical as s imil ation of moder nity' by the s ocio-cu l tu r al l og-
ics of var iou s l ocal commu nities , Mau s s 's idea of 'the gift' is l ikewis e mobil ized
as a means to u nder s cor e the wor kings of 'cu l tu r e' in the economy.1' Ins tead of
being a s impl e object of exchange, the gift is her e viewed as cons titu ting a s ocial
r el ations hip; it is a dr amatization of a whol e networ k of s ocial r el ations , a s igni-
8. This difficu l t pr obl em wil l be taken u p bel ow.
9. It al s o fail s to accou nt for many l ongs tanding cr itiqu es of Scott, mos t of which
take is s u e with the r edu ctionis m inher ent in the as s er tion that al l fu ndamental
notions of l egitimacy and ju s tice der ive fr om a 's u bs is tence ethic' which is
gr ou nded in the s u ppos ed r ecipr ocal natu r e of peas ant s ocial exchange.
10. War nier 's qu es t for a Camer oonian economic ethos mu s t r es pond to the s ame
s et of
qu es tions -es pecial l y
if he is to avoid the fal l aciou s deter mination of au -
thenticity s u ppos edl y l ocated in an au tochthonou s r ational ity or s et of pr actices .
See War nier (in Bayar t, pp. 175-201), Miaffo & War nier (in Ges chier e and
Konings , pp. 33-69) as wel l as War nier 's book r eviewed her e.
11. Mau s s has been r evived r ecentl y in both Fr ench and Angl ophone l iter atu r es in a
cr itiqu e of u til itar ian r eadings of economic l ife. A few par adigmatic exampl es
incl u de the wor k done by the Mou vement anti-u til itar is te dans l es s ciences
s ocial e (MAUSS) in La r evu e du MAUSS, and their vol u me, Ce qu e donner veu t
dir e. Don et inter et (1993), both pu bl is hed by the Editions de l a Decou ver te
(Par is ). See al s o A. WEINER (1976), M. STRATHERN (1988), and A. APPADURAI,
ed. (1986). BOURDIEU (1977) has mos t for cefu l l y demons tr ated the l ogic of
inter es ted cal cu l ation invol ved in gift exchange, ar gu ing for a l es s r es tr ictive,
mor e compar ativel y r el evant definition of economic inter es t. He is not
r efer r ed to by the au thor s r eviewed her e who take u p this per s pective.
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638 JANET ROITMAN
fying act (Jaffr el ot and Adel khah). And yet this pu r chas e on the non-economic
as pect of exchange is s til l gu ar anteed by u nder l ying as s u mptions abou t the u ni-
fied natu r e of cu l tu r e. Pos iting the gift as a 'total s ocial fact' r is ks a fu nctional -
is t r eading of exchange if one cannot cl ar ify how the gift pr odu ces this moment:
how does one accou nt for the pr odu ctive power of this s ocial fact? Fu r ther mor e,
as an act of s ignifying a s ocial r el ations hip or an identity, does it al ways affir m
aes thetic and ethical gr ou nds ? Does the gift s ignify differ entl y for differ ent s eg-
ments of s ociety? This br ings u s back to 's ocial or der ': accor ding to their inter -
pr etation, the gift, ins tead of dr amatizing and ins cr ibing differ ence, confir ms cu l -
tu r al cons is tency. And yet the ver y affir mation of cer tain s tatu s es and ethical
pr incipl es in the s ignifying act of exchange (the gift) is a r epr es entation. Ju s t as
a 's har ed ethos ' is not neces s ar il y s har ed (it is per haps mor e often contes ted than
agr eed u pon) or obl igations of r ecipr ocity gr ou nded in a mor al economy ar e not
al ways confir mations of s ome 'r eal ', objective r ecipr ocal r el ations hip, the gift
might not al ways pr odu ce a s ens e of mor al compu l s ion or r epr odu ce the s ocial
r el ations it s eeks to actu al ize. To the contr ar y, the per ception that an ethos is
s har ed, that r el ations ar e r ecipr ocal , or that exchanges s ignify a s et of ethical and
aes thetic pr ecepts is the effect of hegemonic r epr es entations of s u ch r el ation-
s hips and exchanges . It s eems , then, that a his tor ical s ociol ogy of action that
takes as its point of depar tu r e s chemes of action pr odu ced accor ding to cer tain
his tor ical r efer ents mu s t not onl y accou nt for the fiel ds of meaning that gr ou nd
or or ient potential action. The ver y pr odu ction of s ocial and cu l tu r al var iation
can onl y be appr ehended by inqu ir ing as to how the s ymbol ic and s ignifying el e-
ments cons titu ting any one imaginar y fiel d ('champ imaginair e') come to be
pr ivil eged over other s .'2
This br ings u s back to the agency-s tr u ctu r e pr obl em ins ofar as an appr oach
which pr es u ppos es the acting s u bject ('s u jet agis s ant') in the context of his tor -
ical l y pr odu ced fiel ds of s ignifying action cannot addr es s the pr obl em of incoher -
ent fiel ds of meaning. Even if one accou nts for how that s u bject (e g an eco-
nomic agent) is pr odu ced within and on the bas is of contending s ets of meaning,
the contr adictions invol ved in any s u bject-pos ition-which ar e du e to the inco-
her ence of cu l tu r al r epr es entations -ar e onl y r es ol ved in the anal ys t's inter pr e-
tive act. To be s u r e, a phenomenol ogy of economic s u bjectivities is es s ential
for u nder s tanding the his tor ical cons titu tion of economic agents and pr actices
(Bayar t, War nier ) and tr ajector ies and s tr ategies of accu mu l ation (Ges chier e
&
Konings ). And yet withou t expl icitl y addr es s ing the pr obl em of pr es u ppos ing a
coher ent, intending s u bject, the epis temol ogical and methodol ogical is s u es
r ais ed by attempts to as s es s (inter -)s u bjectivel y pr odu ced his tor ical r efer ents (i e
'meaning') cannot be avoided.13
12. Impl icit in this cr itiqu e of 'cu l tu r e' as a u nified total ity is the point that cu l tu r al
incons is tencies and the pr odu ction of diver gent meanings s tem fr om, pr ecis el y,
its over deter mined natu r e, or the s u r pl u s of meaning that char acter izes s ociety
and inter -s u bjectivel y pr odu ced meaning.
13. The cr itiqu e of phenomenol ogy can be fou nd in the wor ks of T. ADORNO (1982)
and J. DERRIDA (1976: es p. 154-168) on Hu s s er l . The var iou s wor ks of M. Fou -
cau l t al s o r epr es ent a definitive br eak with, among other things , phenomenol -
ogy. The methodol ogical impl ications of attempting to s tu dy meaning in
cu it u r e ar e el u cidated in R. DARNTON'S contr ibu tion to cu l tu r al s tu dies (1984).
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QUERIES ON CULTURAL CAPITALISM 639
Thu s we s ee, for exampl e, that War nier 's s ol u tion to the antimony between
s ocio-economic and cu l tu r al is t appr oaches l eads to theor etical incons is tencies .
His r ecou r s e is to methodol ogical individu al is m pr acticed on the bas is of a
'metis s age' of thes e two modes of inter pr etation: a theor y of action and a 'theor y
of civil ization as the ens embl e of s ocial facts ins cr ibed in the "l ongu e du r 6e" and
fu r nis hing agents with fr ames for action' (p. 250). His s u btl e r ender ing of s pe-
cific economic pr actices in non-economic ter ms is infor med by Batail l e, Bau dr il -
l ar d and Lacan ('the economy of des ir e as a pr incipl e of the economy "tou t
cou r t"', p. 157) and invol ves deter mining the r el ations hips ens u ing fr om the econ-
omy of des ir e in the domain of Bamil eke s exu al ity and that in the domain of the
economy its el f. Whil e the s tr u ctu r al or mor phol ogical s imil ar ities of centr al -
izing metaphor s and s igns ar e wel l demons tr ated by War nier , the deter minants
and for ces that r ender thes e categor ies heter ogeneou s and dis continu ou s ar e
occl u ded by an over l y r eified and abs tr act accou nt by anal ogy.14 Fu r ther mor e,
and mor e impor tant for the ar gu ment at hand, s imu l taneou s r ecou r s e to el e-
ments of Lacanian theor y and methodol ogical individu al is m cr eates theor etical
confu s ion. Lacan's pos tu l ate that the coher ent s u bject is not an objective s ocial
'fact' and his s u bs equ ent ar gu ment for the neces s ar il y fr agmented natu r e of the
s u bject"5 r ender s pr obl ematic the s tar ting point for any for m of methodol ogical
individu al is m as wel l as any phenomenol ogy: that is , s u bjectivity.
16
Whil e War -
nier does not r ais e the is s u e of 'cl os u r e' s o dear to Lacan, he does examine the
cons titu tion of the 'moder nis t fantas y' and its incoher ence in the context of
Bamil eke s ociety (p. 193). Bu t becau s e he pr ivil eges action, and hence does
not pr obl ematize s u bjectivity, he cannot inqu ir e as to the cons titu tion of the
moder nis t s u bjectivity its el f (and its incoher ence). Her e, r efer ence to
Fou cau l t's wor k u nder s cor es this pr obl em (cf. ibid., p. 259). For Fou cau l t, dis -
cipl inar y pr actices and 'gou ver nemental ites ' ar e pr odu ctive as oppos ed to
r epr es s ive techniqu es ; they ar e integr al to the pr odu ction of cer tain his tor ical
For commentar y, s ee R. WUTHNOW (1987: 60-64); L. HUNT (1989: 9-12); and the
debate between BOURDIEU, CHARTIER and DARNTON (1985).
14. War nier 's pr oject is in fact highl y r eminis cent of J.-J. Gou x (1990). Thr ou gh
anal ogou s method, Gou x s eeks to deter mine the homol ogou s ar ticu l ations of
al l s ymbol ic or ganizations that ar e r el ated to the exchange of vital activities .
For a cr itiqu e of Gou x, appl ied her e to
War nier , r efer to G. C. SPIVAK
(1985).
15. Cf. J. LACAN (1966). Lacan's chal l enge to notions of 'knowl edge' and 'bel ief'
(i e the cl os ing off of u ncer tainty) and the idea of the 'fr agmented s u bject' is s u es
fr om the l ingu is tic point that the 'I' is the l eas t s tabl e of s ignifier s . Lacan's cr i-
tiqu e of Fr eu d is bas ed on a r ejection of the r edu ction of es ir e to need, l eading
to the as s er tion that 'identity' or per ceived 'whol enes s ' is to be u nder s tood at
the l evel of l angu age.
16. To be s u r e, to the extent that Lacan's pr oject invol ves a theor y of s u bjectivity
and the u ncons ciou s , 'the s u bject' is the s tar ting point of his r efl ection.
However , this s u bject is cons tr u ed as the cons titu tive categor y of ideol ogy; in
ins is ting on the pr imacy of imaginar y r epr es entation, the impos s ibil ity of the
s u bject's s el f-r epr es entation is pr odu ced in ideol ogy. Acces s ion to
s u bjecthood
occu r s in the pr oces s of al ienation and is never fu l l y achieved. Hence my point
that methodol ogical individu al is m, which pr oceeeds fr om an intending s u bject,
and Lacanian theor y ar e in s ome ways dis s onant. On the r el evance of Laca-
nian theor y for s ociopol itical anal ys is , s ee E. BELLAMY 1993.
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640 JANET ROITMAN
pr actices and s u bjects .'7 In this s ens e, becau s e they cir cu ms cr ibe the objects of
their oper ation, one cannot pr es u ppos e an acting s u bject ('s u jet agis s ant') as
pr ior to dis cu r s ive and r egu l ator y fiel ds . Hence ther e is a fu ndamental dis s o-
nance between a his tor ical s ociol ogy of action and Fou cau l t's methodol ogy, con-
tr ar y to War nier 's inter pr etation. To be s u r e, Fou cau l t wou l d r eject an anthr o-
pol ogy of the s u bject.18 Bu t her e one might ins is t that the cons titu tion of the
s u bject s u r el y goes beyond the s cope of the pr ojects s et ou t in the vol u mes u nder
r eview. This is tr u e. And yet, as ar gu ed above, their s tated objective of
r es ol ving the tens ion between the 'cu l tu r al being' and the 'acting s u bject'
r equ ir es pr obl ematizing the s u bject its el f.
His tor ies of Capital
Ul timatel y, thou gh, thes e wor ks ar e impor tant contr ibu tions to the his tor ies of
capital . They fu r ther ou r u nder s tandings of how s ocieties typical l y and al mos t
s ol el y appr ehended in fu nction of their l ying ou ts ide the tr ajector y of Wes ter n
his tor ical capital is m ar e l iving fu l l y 'moder n' exper iences . And 'moder nity'
invol ves myr iad tr ajector ies in the context of diver s e his tor ical imaginations .
One wonder s , however , as to what the au thor s mean by 'capital is m' and 'moder -
nity'. Their r es is tance to the tel eol ogy invol ved in defining thes e categor ies pr ior
to examination of their actu al ization in var iou s his tor ico-geogr aphical contexts is
wel l noted. However , if one r efer s to a 'r einvented' capital is m or 'al ter native'
paths to accu mu l ation, qu es tions ar is e as to the extent to which accu mu l ation,
commer cial activity, monetization, etc., ar e manifes tations of capital is t-type r el a-
tions . Mor e impor tantl y, a s er iou s cr itiqu e of s tandar d appr oaches to l ocal cap-
ital is ms in ter ms of their cor r es pondence to the fou nding model of Wes ter n cap-
ital is m wou l d, it s eems , take is s u e with the oppos ition between 'cu l tu r al r eas on'
and 'moder n economic r ational ity' as it per tains to the ver y nar r ative of the his -
tor y of capital in the Wes t its el f.19 That is , whil e the au thor s qu es tion the 'dis -
enchantment' r eading of capital is t his tor y-the idea that r ational ization l eads to
l os s of meaning in s ocial r el ations 20-the as s er tion that u til itar ian cu l tu r e is the
dis tinctive mar k of Wes ter n moder nity is onl y impl icitl y cou nter ed in a few
17. M. FOUCAULT (1977, 1978). And cf. C. GORDON (1980).
18. War nier s eems to as s er t the contr ar y. See his dis cu s s ion of thes e points on
pp. 259-260.
19. Debates over the theor etical and his tor ical viabil ity of this oppos ition and the
nar r ative of capital is m and moder nity with r es pect to Wes ter n s ocieties have
been taking pl ace in many domains . Sel ect inter ventions mos t r el evant to ou r
dis cu s s ion incl u de S. TAMBIAH (1990), A. APPADURAI (1986), B. HERNNSTEIN-
SMITH (1988). J. HABERMAS'S r ewr iting of his tor ical mater ial is m (1989) and
cons equ ent examination of the cons titu tion of the 'pu bl ic s pher e'-the pr oces s
by which pu bl ic and ins titu tional ized pol itics wer e dis s ociated fr om the pr ivate
(or the s pher e of, fir s t, the economy and, l ater , the famil y) has ins pir ed mu ch
cr iticis m of the as s u mption that this pr oces s entail ed the es tabl is hment of for mal
r ational ity as the pr e-eminent s tandar d.
20. As du l y noted by Bayar t, this is Weber 's inter pr etation of r ational ization in
which the ins titu tional ization of s ecu l ar moder n cu l tu r e, or for mal r ational ity,
l eads to the evacu ation of the s acr ed, or s u bs tantive r ational ity, fr om the hu man
wor l d.
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QUERIES ON CULTURAL CAPITALISM 641
of the texts . Nowher e is ther e a s er iou s appr ais al of hegemonic r epr es entations
of the his tor y of Wes ter n capital is m in ter ms of r ational ization, the ins titu tional -
ization of ins tr u mental r ational ity or the au tonomization of the economy fr om
the s ocio-cu l tu r al s pher e.21 This is s u r pr is ing s ince ther e is s o mu ch accom-
pl is hed wor k on this qu es tion.22 Recent inqu ir ies into the dichotomizing ten-
dency of the epis temol ogy of the Enl ightenment-and hence r epr es entations of
Wes ter n his tor y and the natu r e of Wes ter n s ocial r el ations -have bl u r r ed the
bol d l ine dr awn between s ocieties 'befor e and after the Fal l into commer ce'.23
This is r el evant to the wor ks examined her e to the extent that pos iting 'al ter na-
tive' tr ajector ies to capital is m and moder nity impl ies that l ocal his tor ies ar e s til l
ins cr ibed in the tel eol ogy of the extens ion of capital is t his tor y-they ar e del in-
eated theor etical l y in r el ation to the s ame fou nding model . It al s o deadens
the heu r is tic val u e of concepts s u ch as the gift, the mor al economy and an eco-
nomic ethos .24 Her e, James on's commentar y on the s ou r ces of the tr u th of
exper ience is once again per tinent: ins tead of attempting to inter pr et the his tor -
ical l ogics of capital is m and moder nity on the bas is of cu l tu r al l y ins pir ed com-
pl exes of meaning, attention s hou l d be tu r ned to his tor ical r egimes of val u e and
tr u th gr ou nded in differ entiated l ocal and gl obal fiel ds (ins cr ibed by identities ,
capital , commodities , media, technol ogies ...)25 that ar e the u l timate s ou r ces
of knowl edge for var iou s commu nities . Fr om the point of view of a cr itical
21. Bayar t does s o in his intr odu ction (1993, pp.
9-43). However , he does not take
is s u e with the pr oces s of r ational ity per s e. Fr om a r es ol u tel y Br au del ian per -
s pective, he cons ider s r ather the extent to which war and viol ent
pr oces s es
of
appr opr iation and accu mu l ation ar e vector s of s ocial change and the extent to
which they ar e es s ential to the gl obal his tor y of capital is m. P. Ges chier e (in
Bayar t, p. 88) s pecifical l y takes is s u e with the idea of the au tonomization of the
mar ket/economy as a mar k of capital is m/moder nity, ins is ting that this is bas ed
on 'cer tain fu ndamental dis tinctions of Wes ter n thou ght'. On this point, s ee
J.-J. GISLAIN (1987), A. SALSANO (1987), and S. GUDEMAN (1986). Fr om an
entir el y differ ent per s pective, Cou s s y al s o addr es s es this topic (in Bayar t,
pp.22-24.)
22. For one, the r ewr iting of the pr odu ctivis t r eading of the l ogic of capital is m has a
l ong his tor y. It has r es u l ted in the view that the dominant mode of s ocial
power is not neces s ar il y that of pol itical economy, or pr odu ction, bu t r es ides
r ather in the val u e cr eating and r egu l ating r ol e of cons u mption. Cf. J. BAU-
DRILLARD 1968, 1970, 1975, 1981. This es s ential gr ou ndwor k has l ed to the
r er eading of the r ol e of r ational ity in the capital is t his tor y of the Wes t. See
D. FRISBY 1986 and D. KELLNER 1989. Refer al s o to the wor ks cited in fn 12.
23. This point is made, amongs t other s , by B. HERRNSTEIN-SMITH 1988: 130-131.
Par t of her el abor ate ar gu ment concer ns the ways in which the del ineation of
s epar ate 's pher es of val u e' (s u ch as s acr ed/pr ofane, natu r e/cu l tu r e) yiel ds 'binar -
ized r eifications ' of 'cu l tu r e' and 'economy'. Her s pecific concer ns with val u e,
val u ation, aes thetics and r el ativis m ar e cr u cial to the contou r s of the debate over
meaning and the s tu dy of cu l tu r e. For an eval u ation of Her r ns tein-Smith and
fu r ther dis cu s s ion of thes e themes , s ee al s o S. CONNOR 1992.
24. This is the r es u l t of demons tr ations that commodity exchange, gift exchange and
bar ter can al l be s hown to be cal cu l ative in natu r e, s ince they invol ve s ome type
of means -ends r ational ity (cf. APPADURAI 1986) and that non-u til itar ian val u e
its el f (i e s ymbol ic or aes thetic) can be r edes cr ibed as a u til ity (cf. HERRNSTEIN-
SMITH'S devas tating r eview of Batail l e, 1988: 126-128).
25. For a concis e and penetr ating view on this br ief s tatement, s ee A. APPADURAI
1990.
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642 JANET ROITMAN
r eappr ais al of the nar r ative of the ver y his tor y of capital is m in the Wes t-and
hence of the natu r e of moder nity-we move then to the is s u e of how power is
invol ved in the cons tr u ction of efficaciou s his tor ical r efer ents , thos e which
endu r e the 'l ongu e du r ee' and der ive their pr odu ctive power fr om the ins cr ip-
tion of contending nar r atives and for ms of knowl edge to negative s paces .
In keeping with this , Bayar t notes in his comments on cu l tu r e and the mate-
r ial effects of r epr es entations that 'al l imaginar ies ("imaginair es ") ar e not equ al '
(p. 20). To be s u r e, as the cas e s tu dies demons tr ate, l ocal ities cau ght in the
incor por ating and mar ginal izing l ogics of gl obal ization ar e fier cel y debating the
ver y categor y of 'moder nity', with r efer ence to its attendant s ignifier s , s u ch as
capital is m, the mar ket, democr acy, etc. This ins pir es qu es tions abou t the l ogic
of pos tcol onial ity and the s ou r ces of au thor itative voice, qu es tions which ar e of
an epis temol ogical or der . As Gayatr i Chakr avor ty Spivak s tates :26
'The pol itical cl aims that ar e mos t u r gent in decol onized s pace ar e tacitl y
r ecognized as coded within the l egacy of imper ial is m: nationhood, cons titu tion-
al ity, democr acy, s ocial is m, even cu l tu r al is m. In the his tor ical fr ame of expl o-
r ation, col onization, decol onization, what is being effectivel y r ecl aimed is a
s er ies of r egu l ative pol itical concepts , the s u ppos edl y au thor itative nar r ative of
the pr odu ction of which was wr itten el s ewher e, in the s ocial for mations of
Wes ter n Eu r ope. They ar e thu s being r ecl aimed, indeed cl aimed, as concept-
metaphor s for which no his tor ical l y adequ ate r efer ent may be advanced fr om
pos tcol onial s pace. ..'
Depar tment of Pol itics
Univer s ity of Penns yl vania,
Phil adel phia.
26. SPIVAK 1993: 48, al s o 13-14.
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1986 'Intr odu ction: Commodities and the Pol itics of Val u e', in A. APPADURAI,
ed., The Social Life of Things (Cambr idge: Cambr idge Univer s ity Pr es s ):
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1990 'Dis ju nctu r e and Differ ence in the Gl obal Cu l tu r al Economy', Pu bl ic Cu l -
tu r e
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(2):
1-24.
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1986 The Social Life of Things (Cambr idge: CUP).
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QUERIES ON CULTURAL CAPITALISM 643
BAUDRILLARD, J.
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1981 For a Cr itiqu e of the Pol itical Economy of the Sign (St Lou is : Tel os
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BAYART, J.-F.
1989 L'ttat en Afr iqu e. La pol itiqu e du ventr e (Par is : Fayar d).
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1993 'Dis cou r s es of Impos s ibil ity: Can Ps ychoanal ys is be Pol itical ?', Diacr itics
XXIII (1): 24-38.
BERRY, S.
1985 Father s Wor k for their Sons (Ber kel ey: Univer s ity of Cal ifor nia Pr es s ).
BOURDIEU, P.
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1985 'Dial ogu e 'a pr opos de l 'his toir e cu l tu r el l e', Actes de l a Recher che en Sciences
s ocial es 59: 86-93.
CONNOR, S.
1992 Theor y and Cu l tu r al Val u e (Oxfor d: Bl ackwel l ).
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1977 Some Pr obl ems of Capital and Cl as s in Kenya (Nair obi: Univer s ity of Nai-
r obi) ('Occas ional Paper ' 26).
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QUERIES ON CULTURAL CAPITALISM 645
ABSTRACT
This is a r eview es s ay of thr ee wor ks which offer poignant cr itiqu es of anal ys es
and r epr es entations of capital is m as a u niver s al categor y. Thr ou gh empir ical
cas e s tu dies , the au thor s r efine and even s u bver t the homogenization nar r ative of
gl obal ization and capital is t his tor y, and the concomitant as s er tion of the inevita-
bil ity of the u nil inear integr ation of l ocal 'tr adition'-bou nd commu nities into the
gl obal s pace-time of moder nity. However , thr ou gh combined r ecou r s e to a his -
tor ical s ociol ogy of actions and methodol ogical individu al is m, cer tain au thor s
fail to addr es s s u fficientl y the theor etical qu andar y r ais ed by the r el ations hip be-
tween cu l tu r al l y cons titu ted s u bject-pos itions (agency) and s ocio-economic or
pol itical or ganizations (s tr u ctu r e). The pr obl em of pos iting 'cu l tu r e' as an au to-
nomou s -and hence potential l y over deter mining-categor y r emains . Fu r ther -
mor e, whil e taking is s u e with the 'dis enchantment' r eading of capital is t his tor y,
thes e cr itiqu es of s tandar d appr oaches to l ocal capital is ms in ter ms of their cor -
r es pondance to the fou nding model of Wes ter n capital is m ignor e r ecent, cr itical
r eappr ais al s of the nar r ative of the ver y his tor y of capital im in the Wes t.
Incr eas ed attention to his tor ical r egimes of val u e and tr u th, as oppos ed to cu l tu -
r al l y ins pir ed compl exes of meaning, r edir ects anal ys is to the qu es tion of how
power is invol ved in the cons tr u ction of efficaciou s his tor ical r efer ents .
RESUME
Du capital is me cu l tu r el .
-
Dans cet ar ticl e l es tr ois ou vr ages anal ys es offr ent,
chacu n a s a mani -r e, u ne cr itiqu e aigu e du capital is me en ter mes de cat6gor ie
u niver s el l e. A tr aver s des etu des de cas , l es au teu r s r emettent en qu es tion l es
conceptions qu i font de l 'his toir e du capital is me a l a fois u ne entr epr is e gl obal i-
s ante du monde et u n pr oces s u s d'int6gr ation inel u ctabl e, dans u ne moder nit6
engl obante, des differ entes commu nau tes tr aditionnel l es . Cependant, bien qu e
cer tains au teu r s aient conjointement r ecou r s a u ne s ociol ogie his tor iqu e de
I'action et a l 'individu al is me methodol ogiqu e, il s ne par viennent pas 'a r 6s ou dr e
l a contr adiction entr e u ne appr oche fondee s u r l e mode d'agencement cu l tu r el
de pos itions occu p6es par des s u jets (<< agency )>) et u ne demar che r epos ant s u r
u n pr incipe d'or ganis ation s ocio-6conomiqu e ou pol itiqu e (<< s tr u ctu r e >)). Dans
cette per s pective, l e pr obl eme de l a definition de l a cu l tu r e en tant qu e s ph6r e
au tonome, et donc potentiel l ement deter minante, r es te en effet pos e. En ou tr e,
bien qu e tenant compte des inter pr etations de l 'his toir e du capital is me en ter mes
de <" des enchantement du monde >), ces au teu r s , cr itiqu es A 1'e'gar d de l a thes e de
l 'u niver s al ite du capital is me occidental , l ais s ent n6anmoins de c6te l es tentatives
vis ant a r eeval u er l a per tinence du r ecit fondateu r de ce s ys teme. Por ter davan-
tage d'attention au r egime his tor iqu e de val eu r et de ver it6 pl u t6t qu 'au s ys teme
de s ens a fondement cu l tu r el r eor iente I'anal ys e ver s l a qu es tion de s avoir
comment l e pou voir es t impl iqu e dans l a cons tr u ction de r ef6r ents his tor iqu es
efficaces .
Key Wor ds /Mots -cl es capital is m/capital is me, cu l tu r e/cu l tu r e, Camer oon/
Camer ou n, India/l Inde.
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