The company of strangers : a natural history of economic life / Paul Seabright.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Seabright, Paul.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social capital (Sociology).

Economics--Sociological aspects.

Economics.

Sociobiology.

Strangers.

Trust.

Physical Description:

x, 304 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, [2004]

Summary:

Human beings are the only species in nature to have developed an elaborate division of labor between strangers. Even something as simple as buying a shirt depends on an astonishing web of interaction and organization that spans the world. But unlike that other uniquely human attribute, language, our ability to cooperate with strangers did not evolve gradually through our prehistory. Only 10,000 years ago -- a blink of an eye in evolutionary time -- humans hunted in bands, were intensely suspicious of strangers, and fought those whom they could not flee. Yet since the dawn of agriculture we have refined the division of labor to the point where, today, we live and work amid strangers and depend upon millions more. Every time we travel by rail or air we entrust our lives to individuals we do not know. What institutions have made this possible?

In The Company of Strangers, Paul Seabright provides an original evolutionary and sociological account of the emergence of those economic institutions that manage not only markets but also the world's myriad other affairs. Drawing on insights from biology, anthropology, history, psychology, and literature, Seabright explores how our evolved ability of abstract reasoning has allowed institutions like money, markets, and cities to provide the foundation of social trust. But how long can the networks of modern life survive when we are exposed as never before to risks originating in distant parts of the globe? This lively narrative shows us the remarkable strangeness, and fragility, of our everyday lives.

Contents:

Part I Tunnel Vision 11

Chapter 1 Who's In Charge? 13

Part II From Murderous Apes to Honorary Friends: How Is Human Cooperation Possible? 29

Chapter 2 Man and the Risks of Nature 31

Chapter 3 Murder, Reciprocity, and Trust 48

Chapter 4 Money and Human Relationships 67

Chapter 5 Honor among Thieves: Hoarding and Stealing 78

Chapter 6 Professionalism and Fulfilment in Work and War 87

Part III Unintended Consequences: From Family Bands to Industrial Cities 107

Chapter 7 The City, from Ancient Athens to Modern Manhattan 109

Chapter 8 Water: Commodity or Social Institution? 123

Chapter 9 Prices for Everything? 137

Chapter 10 Families and Firms 153

Chapter 11 Knowledge and Symbolism 174

Chapter 12 Exclusion: Unemployment, Poverty, and Illness 190

Part IV Collective Action: From Belligerent States to a Marketplace of Nations 215

Chapter 13 States and Empires 217

Chapter 14 Globalization and Political Action 233

Conclusion: How Fragile Is the Great Experiment? 245.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [279]-294) and index.

ISBN:

0691118213

OCLC:

52639182