Generalized Exchange1
Generalized Exchange1 Peter Bearman University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Generalized exchange, in which sections of a tribe exchange women in a cycle and thus guarantee social solidarity, was induced from models of the norms governing classi®catory kinship systems. A blockmodel analysis of one aboriginal tribe yields sections that serve as marriage classes in a generalized exchange system, though the norms that govern kinship would fail to manifest, if followed, a cycle for exchange. Generalized exchange systems emerge from inequali- ties exogenous to the kinship system, speci®cally gerontocracy. Mod- els of norms are weak predictors of actual exchange structures. Mod- els of relations yield insight into the etiology of systems that build social solidarity from social exchange. When I was in my mother's womb, social structure seemed a simple thing. (Gang of Four) INTRODUCTION This article focuses on identifying the conditions under which social soli- darity emerges from exchange relations. The empirical focus is on the observed behaviors of persons whose exchanges induce a stable social or- der. The setting (Groote Eylandt, an island off Australia), the persons (Aborigines), the language in which exchange is conducted (kinship), the relevant theoretical literature (classi®catory kinship theory), and the val- ues exchanged (women) are exotic for most sociologists. But many of the issues involvedÐthe relationship between normative orders governing action and actual behaviors, the identi®cation of micromechanisms that yield stable emergent structures, and the relationship between solidarity, exchange, and inequalityÐare central to problems we encounter in more familiar settings. 1 Harrison White, Richard Simpson, Sally Falk Moore, Eric Leifer, Charles Lindholm, Gerald Marwell, John Paul Boyd, Roger Gould, Peter Blau, Ron Breiger, Douglas White, and the AJS reviewers provided helpful advice on earlier drafts.
[Show full text]