Community and the Other-Interested Individual
Community and the Other-Interested Individual
This chapter further expands on the concept of the Melanesian individual, which was discussed in the previous chapter, in order to highlight its importance in understanding of the “economy.” It first focuses on the selfish-generous individual, which is shown to have a narrow viewpoint of human behavior, before turning to the individual versus society dichotomy that has provided the distinction between individuals and persons. This chapter further emphasizes that the Melanesian ideas towards the individual are not only the ones that differ from the ideas of capitalism, but also the Melanesian ideas of the experience of society. A discussion on the individual and collective perspectives within the Wola social order and its socio-political exchanges wrap up the chapter.
Keywords: Melanesian individual, selfish-generous individual, individual versus society, experience of society, social order, socio-political exchanges
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