Competition Beyond Capitalism : Anthropological Perspectives on an Unruly Dynamic.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hopkinson, Leo.

Series:

Studies in Social Analysis Series

Studies in Social Analysis Series ; v.16

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Philosophical anthropology.

Capitalism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (188 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Berghahn Books, Incorporated, 2026.

Summary:

"This volume offers an original ethnographic rethinking of competition beyond its framing in economics. From Shuar festivals in Ecuador to competitive yoga in India, Chinese student gaming cultures, NGO-led children's development contests in Delhi, Indonesian state competitions, and intra-Catholic rivalry in rural Spain, the chapters reveal competition's contingency, ambiguity, and generative affordances. A theoretically ambitious collection that will radically reshape debates on neo-liberalism, subjectivity, and social change." * Laura Bear, London School of Economics "Competition has long had a bad name in anthropology. This bracing volume asks us to think again. Neither glorifying competition nor damning it, this ethnographically wide-ranging and theoretically coherent collection of essays offers a brilliant insight into competition's often unanticipated effects in multiple social contexts. The chapters explore the multifarious affordances of competition, from Spanish Catholic reformists to Chinese gamers, from Indian yogic 'Godmen' to Indigenous Ecuadorian beauty pageants. By problematising the rather tired conflation of competition with capitalism and neoliberalism, the volume offers a powerful refiguration of competition as an object of anthropological interest. A must read!" * Matei Candea, University of Cambridge "This pioneering volume brings together eye-opening ethnographic analyses demonstrating how competition often generates outcomes quite at odds with what institutions may expect or desire. It teases apart competition and capitalism to open a new landscape for research on the former as always a process - one fraught and often wayward." * Thomas M. Malaby, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Contents:

Intro

0 i-xiv

00 1-25

01 26-47

02 48-68

03 69-90

04 91-111

05 112-133

06 134-153

07 154-166

08 167-172

Competition beyond Capitalism

Contents

Illustrations

Foreword

Introduction

Chapter 1 Competing for the Future

Chapter 2 The Ethics of Yoga and the Spirit of Godmen

Chapter 3 E-sports vs. Exams

Chapter 4 "Is There Going to Be Another Competition Today?"

Chapter 5 Afterlives and Alter-lives

Chapter 6 Co-existing through Opposition

Conclusion

Index

Blank Page.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Part of the metadata in this record was created by AI, based on the text of the resource.

ISBN:

1-83695-448-4

OCLC:

1583184385