Money and Modernity

Melanesian societies provide unmatched opportunities for posing some of the most potent questions in anthropology. While modern money issued by the state has been accepted throughout Melanesia, many indigenous currencies, such as shells, survive. Why? What are the differences between shells and dollars? Are both simply a means of exchange? Why do Melanesians see money as both desirable and dangerous? Answers to these questions provide a window on the effect of money on social life throughout history.

While scholars have long been aware of changing currency regimes in Melanesia, subtle ethnographic study has been rare. This collection of original essays fills this gap, exploring money and its social dynamic in eight different Melanesian communities. Editors David Akin and Joel Robbins synthesize the research and, in a penetrating analysis, describe new models for thinking about money.