In this episode we explore the truly mind-blowing exchange system prevalent in the Trobriand Island complex off the East coast of Papua New Guinea, known as the Kula Ring. This elaborate trading system, long invisible to outside eyes, was described at length by the legendary Polish anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski, who spent years embedded inside the local tribes to discover how the overlapping complexities of the trading scheme operated to create political and social outcomes for the Islanders. His resulting book, Argonauts of the South Pacific, remains a classic of anthropology, while his approach to ethnographic research transformed the entire methodology of the field. We explore some of the features of Trobriand society, its economy, social rules, and the Kula Ring itself, drawing on the insights of Polanyi and Marx (see Episode 9) to help explain how the trade in seemingly insignificant, non-utilitarian objects serves to cohere an entire society.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rolfstromolsen.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rolfstromolsen.substack.com