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Globalization, money and symbolic violence: Economic exchange and domination process Communication at UMD Colloquium on Globalization 2002 Senegal and Development: The struggle between Formal and Informal processes communication for Development circle at UMD - 2002 |
Globalization, money and symbolic violence: Economic exchange and domination process Communication at UMD Colloquium on Globalization 2002 My paper aims to describe and better understand how different forms of violence are hidden in the economic process. I hypothesize that in monetary circulation, in economic exchange, people domination, according to their symbolic capital. Indeed, as a symbol, capital is an acquisition, (attribute, emblem, insignia, knowledge) else by virtue of an analogous connection that has an evocative effect. Symbolic capital allows people to create, to choose, to believe, to make sense of symbols. Hence, to analyze the symbolic violence that operates in the economic processes, I will study the articulation between the real domain of practices and the symbols, which represent of values assigned to the practices. I What is the symbolic violence Symbolic violence is a force exerted through knowledge. We will see the knowledge could be a means to manipulate people. In others words, according to Pierre Bourdieu, symbolic violence operates on cognitive structure, that is to say it has effects on historic categories of preference like white and black, right and left, soft and, hard, etc. These cognitive structures allow people to understand the world. Therefore, given that they are the results of socialization, one has to analyze their roles as a function of historic conditions: they are variables conditioned by time, and social positions. Hence, to better understand the notion of symbolic violence, we have to return to Pierre Bourdieu's definition of habitus. According to Bourdieu, the «habitus» is the generative principle of practices. In other words, the habitus is a product of the interiorization of exterior values that generate practices and opinions. If habitus is the ability to reproduce and the ability to invent, we can say a fuller understanding of symbolic violence in financial exchanges requires us to analyze language use, social time and representations of power, in relation to systems of reference. Thus, when dominators want to manipulate, they act on the cognitive structure of people. For example, today the discourse of the privatization hides the ideology challenging the "commoditization" of life, the neo-liberal point of view, the economic paradigm. The symbolic violence allows the reproduction of social structure in the market relations. In this perspective, it is impossible to separate market relation from the social organization in which people operate. By manipulating people, one can exert invisible, unconscious power. Therefore, a global analyze of violence has to take into account the study of the effects produced by discourses as a symbolic power (including the "scientific" discourses). In the economic discourse, one can see how there is in the concept of globalization a transfer of economic violence. For example, when French colonialists wanted to legitimize and better justify their domination of Africa they develop the idea of French Community of Africa. In French colonialism it is the French government that decides, under its own sovereignty, which policies it wants for Africans. The French idea of community operates in African native people' mind as an egalitarian idea. It allows French government to think colonization as a means for development. Thus, the introduction of the Franc, French money, has historically destroyed African local money. This example shows us how money appears as a means of symbolic violence. The symbolic violence in exchange hides itself sometimes in market relation as social mediations, which people need, and others times it takes legitimate forms of institutions. So the question is how can symbolic violence be revealed as a social construction (control) of market relations? To answers these questions, we have to know how people can escape symbolic violence. II The vice of symbolic violence If symbolic violence works it is because people in whom it works do not know the violent dimension. Indeed, monetary practices are constrained and supported by collective beliefs. However, because of its conventional strictly individualistic framework, the economic calculation itself is a form of symbolic violence. I defend the idea that people escape symbolic violence in the economic process by seeing that their values are not conveyed within purely economic interactions. Indeed, in the exchange relationship, money is a ritual object in that it embodies a degree of the sacred, when people see that it underscores their values or habits of mind, they ask themselves about its role. Thus, today many African Presidents say they want to develop their own economy policy and talk about NEPAD (New African Program for African Development). In this document, they stress the importance of autonomous development. They try to escape the previous models of development. However, in a dialectical process, the various social networks, which bring different groups (of the North and the South) into conversation, influence considerably the structure of these groups as well as the changing form of symbolic violence. These networks include affiliations with both popular labor unions and political parties in Europe and in Africa, but also those who are more radical in their views. This inter-dependency allows the register of symbolic violence by the mean of auto-fear. These African presidents cannot defend now for example the idea of nationalization of energy, water, etc: they put inside themselves the fear of the "politically incorrect". They scare also the World Bank and IMF which exert a kind of digital control on their acts. Yet, this control could not be compared as Foucault told about torture (Agonies) in the ancient regime, but, these mode of control do not touch only the African decision makers' minds, it effects also on their bodies. Indeed, the symbolic violence can concern the dress, the position you take even if it does not fit with your reality. Let us say against Michel Foucault that the force and the form of violence are not heterogeneous, distinct, and mixed, in the device of punishment, they also merge in symbolic violence. The economic discourse embodies the symbolic violence. Through the form of economic discourse of money and globalization, the power of domination is expressed. The discourse for indicators of performance like a notion of productivity helps the manager to control, to exert power. The manager's discourse does not only legitimate his power, but also reduces the workers status (in relation to the manager status). Hence, could we say that every discourse is in relation to the power of who speaks is every discourse a form of symbolic violence? This answer is yes, if the actors do not have the same symbolic capital, and if there is conniving of those in dominant position. Yes, when the dominated accepts that the discourse of the dominator is true and unquestionable. Conclusion If we make a link between the notion of money, the notion of globalization, and the notion of symbolic capital, we can see how the forces and the forms, the power and knowledge, the "objectivity of facts" and the proposition work through symbolic violence. Indeed, money is defined as a means of payment, as a general equivalent, money gives a liberating sense of power insofar as it permits people to engage in non-barter exchanges. As part of its function as a means of exchange, money is also a means of measuring value. That is to say in monetary practice there is not only individual motivation but also more holistic social and cultural ones. The force of the symbolic violence of money is in the form of economic discourse. That is to say that some people exert their power not only by physical force but also in other ways by the forms. The notion of the symbolic meaning of money includes all the symbols given by a society, with which people can make a system, and which can be studied with structural methods (system of signs based on opposing meanings). The notion of symbolism helps us to know the place of trust, and sometimes shows us the importance of the sacred and religious in monetary exchange. The notion of symbolism also allows us to consider all dimensions of identity issues: legitimization and sovereignty of money. Understood as part of a larger cultural symbolic economy, we can see how money codifies non-monetary practices, cultural values and social relations. In this case we can see that in the symbolism of money there are ideological rifts among peoples, classes and nations. From this point of view the discourse of globalization that promote neo-liberal ideology as a criteria of true and good, is a lie: it lacks a criteria of critical reason. Indeed, the colonial experience in Africa has shown that the universalism, which contains the promise of liberation of human being, has served to alienate the African. Likewise, understanding the reproduction of social structure in market relations is a means to understand how symbolic violence operates. Through symbolic violence, economic transactions are involved in social relations. Studying the effects of globalization through the notion of symbolic violence, we can better understand the structure of relations between a symbolic system and the process of domination. The mechanisms of logic, mode of domination, and forms of symbolic violence produce the dominated's adhesion to the order of the dominator. |
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Senegal and Development: The struggle between Formal and Informal processes Communication for Development circle at UMD - 2002 Introduction If the discussion about development is traditionally a concern of economists, today it poses crucial questions about the cultural and social consequences of economic process. The globalization process, which aims to reify quickly monetary, cultural and social flux in products, hides many aspects of social issues. For this presentation, I try to describe and better understand the changing relations between the formal economic process and the informal system of exchange. Senegal contains both modern and traditional institutions. The individuals use all possibilities they can have through the both official and non-official systems. By the democratic demands, the state is required to provide all Senegal citizens access to services, which are deemed necessary to modern life. For example, every parent wants to be able to put his child through school. My objective is to show how some people try to manage their uncertainties, by using the means offered by Government in the traditional system. In particular, I am interested in the way that people draw on their cultural background to engage increasingly rational development process. For this presentation, I want to address the following themes: 1) The relationship between the concepts of development, the economic potential of Senegal, and the informal system represented by the cultural and social monetary practices of the population. 2) The impact of the democratic system and the traditional value of transparency on Senegalese governance. To this end, I will show how cultural and social variables continue to influence people's behaviors. My hypothesis is that if development is for the people, the efficiency of its process depends on how it takes into account cultural and social backgrounds of those it supports to help. Indeed, as a process, development embodies many social values, but as an end it needs a kind of ultimate symbol. To that effect, the political and economic institutions of development be analyzed from social symbolic perspective; examining how they fit with the cultural and social values of particular society. I - Ethnography of Senegal: International Cooperation and National Potential Senegal has clearly distinguished itself through poor economic diversification and is now relegated to the status of "least-developed countries (LDCs)". The population is estimated in 2001, about 10 300 000 persons. The structure of population is 44.07% between 0-14 years, and 52.88% between 15-64 years. On the surface Senegal seems more comparable to South Dakota than to entire US. Senegal has clearly distinguished itself through poor economic diversification and is now relegated to the status of "least-developed countries (LDCs)". Senegal is on legal system of democracy. The government type is a Republic under multiparty democratic rule. The administrative and legal system is based on French civil law system. There is a judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court; the Council of State audits the government's accounting office. The executive branch has a chief of state (the President of the Republic), the head of government (Prime Minister), the cabinet (Council of Ministers) appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president. And, the Prime minister is appointed by the president The president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; for example, election last held 27 February and 19 March 2000 (next to be held 27 February 2007). The legislative branch is an unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (120 seats). The members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms. The Constitutional Court, Council of State, Court of Final Appeals or Cour de Cassation, Court of Appeals constitute the Judicial branch. There are almost 50 political parties and many pressure groups and leaders: labor; Muslim brotherhoods; students; teachers, etc. Today, the Senegalese economy relies on the export of seafood and phosphate, as well as on tourism. Senegal benefits from the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative. This position is quite edgy for the country, however it is definitely an opportunity for growth if effective policies are put in place and key new sectors are supported. Senegal is one of the 28 countries that were purposely eligible countries in the textile industry. In this sector, Senegal competes with 3 majors African countries: Mauritius, Tunisia and Morocco. But, with the obsolescence of the equipment, fraud and runaway quantities of substitute products available to the local population, and the absence of a single major player, the textile industry grew vulnerable. The industrial sector includes the export of commodities like construction equipment, fish, fuel, ground nuts, petroleum products and phosphates. The growth of this sector is tainted by numerous factors: environment, scarce agricultural policies and investment in the sub-sectors of the industry. Moreover, the equipment used is often very basic and as such, very limiting to productivity. As a consequence of the downturn engendered, massive rural migrations have developed. The fishing sector plays a major role in the Senegalese economy since it is the primary sector contributing to export revenue. The survival of the sector is threatened by over-fishing and/or other harmful techniques used in the coastal region by the countries of the European Union (EU) and Senegal itself. The Fisheries Agreement between the E.U. and Senegal allow both parties to reach a definite settlement. The friction is drawn from the EU desire to access more fishing rights in the coasts of Senegal. Increased EU access, according to WWF International, would "threaten(s) the survival and sustainability of these fisheries". Senegal and others countries (Mauritania, Guinea Bissau) are not fairly rewarded or compensated for the depletion of their fishing stock. . That is the reason why, though its interests are protected by the conservation organization, WWF, Senegal needs to take action and work on ways to protect its seaboards and marine life to maintain this key sector. Because of the dutiful relations between Senegal and the EU, it is no accident that Senegal granted fishing rights to the EU off its coasts. What also should have been obvious, is the great value of the fishing industry in Senegal and the performance that could have been reached today had those fishing rights remained Senegalese? Now I would like to compare this official database and the non-official experiences of Senegalese people. One can see that the interactions between the formal culture of development and the informal culture of traditional social systems serve to undermine the latter. I plan to investigate how the challenges of globalization and capitalism are managed by African informal system. To do that I would like to focus on the ways in which monetary practices of people in the informal system resist to the Nation State way of development. In the dialectic process between these two levels (informal and formal way of development) I would like to study how the cultural and social use of money allows not only for the reversal of economic inequalities but also creates new democratic perspectives. II From formal to informal sectors: monetary practices of people Good policies for development are not monolithic, but rather socially and culturally contingent. The fundamental principles of development, in practice must assume different characteristics in different societies according to their cultural and historical identities. Contingencies exist in which specific forms of governance are best suited to addressing particular development issues. For instance, the characteristics of governance that played a prominent role in the East Asian "miracle" comprise the quality of bureaucracy, state-business cooperation, an active role of the state in market regulation, state-society relations (social cohesion), and social capital formation. In contrast, rule of law, decentralization, and civic activism are some of the governance characteristics that are related to development performance in the case of Latin America. In both cases, the focus of institutional change has been upon harmonizing state-society-market relations" Rashed Ahmed. The cultural and social background either allows or prevents the emergence of new cultural practices. For example, one can see how the practice of placing one's money into a traditional rotation system called tontine is done in order to give a social answer to an economic crisis. However, this practice is also an economic answer to a social crisis. This informal system provides a source of savings while also fortifying social networks. However from a macro-economic perspective, the tontine is an inefficient form of savings for several reasons. First, no interest is collected on invested savings. Second, monies sometimes are outlaid for consumption items (a funeral, for example) rather than entrepreneurial production. But the goal of this kind of system of saving is solidarity rather than economic efficiency. The tontine system has empowered social relationship in a dominated society through the use of traditional economic system. In the tontine association, members pool periodically contributions and the lump sum is then attributed to one of them by a vote or need basis. The uncertainty of Africans' power in their own lives is heightened in the process of immigration, as families are submitted to the stress of cultural adaptation and financial solvency. As rotating loans the tontines are an effective, successful and adaptable (to the changes in the financial positions of certain homes) means of support. From this point of view, they are an effective means to increase the socioeconomic level of a couple, but in case of failure (inability to repay the lender) the social penalty can be grave for the future balance of the couple. As Senegalese have immigrated to western countries, their monetary exchanges have become part of the migratory flows which constitute a central characteristic of Senegal informal system in the globalization process (Appadurai, 1998). The tontine sum allows people to invest in the most profitable activity or social economic opportunity in Senegal or in whatever western country to which a person may have immigrated. Hence, one can say that different forms of internal cooperation, which allow the community to help its members, are also a means to decrease the social disparities between informal and formal systems. Some people have used this internal cooperation and achieve upward social mobility or community economic development. Others have invested the sum in sectors where they find other individuals with whom they have cultural, social, domestic or religious ties. In the Community of Mourides there exists a Senegalese religious movement that has many immigrants members. Mouride is an Islamic community in Senegal that mixes Islamic and African traditional spirituality. They believe in Ahmadou Bamba, a prophet from the 1920th , who developed a belief in an entrepreneurial work ethic. Mourides people have to go and work where they can find the jobs. To find a job is one way of following religious beliefs. This leads to community-building and increased solidarity inside and outside of Senegal. The Ahmadou Bamba descendants serve as current spirituals leaders. Husbands and wives often carry on long distance relations in which they continue their financial support of one another. All in all, we can say that in Mouride community, money must circulate between members. The tontines between members of this community allow them to augment needed capital (on behalf of the other members of the same community) at preferential rates. It is often a means of decreasing lender risk. Indeed, the community allows its members to mutually share the risks. With capital of the group, it is easier to raise additional capital. III Problematic of development Analyzing social order as it is realized through economics practices, I defend the idea that the value of development is not merely in its economic rate of growth, but also, in the cultural and social possibilities that allow people to raise their standard of living. In the past centuries, the colonization and global capitalism both in their own ways have tended to weaken the African traditional form of democracy. Furthermore, European domination of Africa denied the traditional system altogether. Hence, one can find in Senegal two ways of development of formal and informal systems: western and indigenous models. International organizations try to tie the economic process to the capability of governance. According to their perspective, development is largely a function of governance. Indeed, the means to ends development, people need to be secure at economic, social, and political levels. Democracy and the state capacity for governance are therefore, necessary preconditions for the design of policies to better develop countries. First, governance is the capacity of a state and society to create and mobilize human and institutional resources. Second, for good governance, state has a obligation to coordinate divergent interests in order to insure transparency of institutions. Third, good governance should allow coherent, equitable and sustainable development, and to take into account the sovereignty of the nation. We know that since the colonialism, European countries like France have experienced the proliferation of a multiplicity of dissonant development languages. In what way the African countries can pursue their own development process? Today, it is the same formerly colonialist countries, such as France that are attempting to develop a common language (Francophonie) as the means to opposed a common discourse to economic globalization. However, despite these idealist possibilities, the French discourse against globalization must be recognized as another kind of discourse of power. It is patriarchal discourse. Globalization is driven by a pre-dominant concern with economic flows and capitalist accumulation. Observing the struggle between formal and informal systems in Senegal, one can say that global capitalism shifts the locus of the formation of decisions. Away from those who are most directly affected by the economics policies, the formal discourse of development undermines more and more the importance of the nation state that often has been a guarantor of citizenship and civil rights. Moreover, the government discourse for or against globalization, seeks to justify and legitimate the increasing inequalities between countries, through privatization, deregulation, etc. For example, in January 1994, Senegal undertook a bold and ambitious economic reform program with the support of the international donor community. This reform began with a 50% devaluation of Senegal's currency, the CFA franc, which is linked at a fixed rate to the French franc. Governmental price-controls and subsidies have been steadily dismantled. Likewise, copying the European model, Senegal is working toward greater regional integration with a unified external tariff. Private activity now accounts for 82% of GDP. But at the same time, Senegal faces deep-seated urban problems of chronic unemployment, juvenile delinquency, and drug addiction. How relevant or important are economic indicators like Real GDP (growth is expected to rise above 6%, while inflation is likely to hold at 2% in 2001-02), when one knows that the most important part of population is excluded from the formal system? Yet, today, the analyst of Senegal economy policies, can undermine the responsibilities of all the governments since independence, because the colonial economy was almost exclusively in the hands of foreign businesses, trading companies, and banks. The colonialists developed production for their own needs. However, all post-independence governments have developed the same colonial economy policies, involving trade in agricultural products like nuts, cotton, etc. Thus, it was shortly after independence, that Senegal like many African states, was characterized by a large national deficit, low standards of living, and a desperate need for capitalist development due to the subsequent oil crisis that affected Western countries. Today, Senegal is characterized by international organizations as good "student" because, the government have accepted the World Bank Group policy of reform (concept of development projects), and the IMF structural adjustments and developmental policies. Putting in place the liberalization and privatization plans of these organizations, like many African states, Senegal cannot demonstrate their sovereignty. How can people of this country be part of their development? Conclusion If the formal way of development introduces the possibility a new democratic sphere in which different groups can express cultural and social practices, it also challenges the traditional conceptions of culture and social roles. Indeed, the discussion about globalization has become a concern for an increasing number of citizens in the contemporary world. The process of economic globalization, which aims to integrate particular societies into one homogenous world space, poses crucial questions about the effect of transnational market relations on the changing nature of socially re-constructed of identities and their relation to patriarchal systems and new forms of coercion. Overall, one can say that the movement of global finance is progressively creating a climate of real uncertainty for both people and governments. Informal ways of coping with financial crisis are threatened by global capitalist trends. On the one hand, globalization challenges the type of communitarian economic exchange and solidarity practiced by Senegalese people. On the other hand, through immigration, it introduces the possibility of extending these networks at the international level. Indeed, the constant flow of people and money across borders permits a transplantation of some of these communal models in the various host countries to which the members migrate. In this context, how is one to theorize the interactions between the global capitalist system and development? How do the resources and constraints of technological innovations encourage or discourage the development of democratic expressions of people in Africa? |
