Ilgn Bahar Evcil

1858372
Response Paper Week 4
The transformation from the gift exchange and socioeconomic structures of the society to the capitalistic mode of production
can actually be seen in the articles of K.Polanyi, K.Marx and E.Wolf. Polanyi
describes these transformations beginning with the description of three
social-economic behaviours of the small scale societies and how these
social-economic behaviours of these societies changed accordance with
the establishment of the market economy. Commodification of land,
labour, capital which are the base of the market economy actually are
shaped accordance with the capitalism. However, he says that these
commodities (land, labour, capital) did not transform naturally and they
are fictitious commodities (2001) . Marx also describes this transformation
within the framework of the labour-market. The labour who puts its labourpower into market by itself transformed into who not willingly but
obligatorily puts its labour-power into market according to Marx (1990). In
the same view with Marx, Wolf give a historical perspective to this subject
while he illustrates how British incorporation in India and China worked in
19th century. The integration of India and China into capitalist system
changed the structure of land, labour, capital and also destroyed the
subsistence in these areas (1982) .

The socio-economic life in the non-capitalist small scale

societies with reference to Weiner, it is subsistence and the social
relationships in the society also procure the economic activities. The whole
society participate in both social and economic relations and supply their
own subsistence. No gain motive involved in the society, prestige is the
most important motive (Weiner, 1988). Thus, there is no obligation in
reciprocal and gift relations. However, establishment of market for land,
labour, capital in unnatural conditions destroyed the freedom of the gift.
Therefore, as Carrier mentioned that the freedom of gift actually turned an
obligation due to cultural obligations (1995), parallel with Marxs thought
that labours free choice of putting itself in the market as commodity
turned an obligation because now it cannot provide its own subsistence
(1990) .
I think, after the British domination as political power in
India, the land reform by British changed the structure of the labour which
made it more dependent to land (1982) is the best historical example of
what Marx describes as obligation of the selling labour-power (1990). In
my view, the main destruction of the capitalism within the process of its
transformation is the disappearance of subsistence activities of the
societies. By this way, the social relations could procure rather less
economic needs than before. Therefore, in order to provide their needs
people obligatorily involved in the system. Another thing, I believe that the
gift relations are also transformed into capitalistic type. To say that I mean
the pure gift turned kind of gift that occurs in the societies where is called
periphery, meaning poor areas, in the capitalism. These gift relations may

show us the reactions of this system. According to Polanyi, the reactions in

the system come from either in itself of the society or the struggle
between capitalists (2001: 79). In other words, there would be resistance
for the capitalist system and its expansion. However, the system still goes
on, because of the fact that system changed the whole base of the
societys social-economic relations and together with the resistances the
system renew itself. For example, in China at first they did not want to
involve in trade with Britain because of their self-sufficiency and
subsistence, but at the end Britain found a way, opium trade, to introduce
the trade with them (1982: 255-256).
From these articles, I understand how the
transformations are great and changed the whole structures of the society.
The only thing I could not understand is that in Marxs article how he
connected the various of forms of money with the creation of capital and
labour-power (1990: 274).

Bibliography
Carrier, J. G. (1995). Gifts and Commodities: Exchange and Western Capitalism
since 1700. London: Routledge.
Marx, K. (1990). Capital: A Critique of Political Economy,Volume1. London:
Penguin.
Polanyi, K. (2001). The Great Transformation. Boston: Beacon Press.
Weiner, A. (1988). The Trobrianders of Papua New Guinea. Fort Worth: Harcourt
College Publishers.
Wolf, E. (1982). Europe and the People without History. Berkeley: University of
California Press.