"E.P. Thompson and Moral Economies," A Companion to Moral Anthropology, Didier Fassin, ed. 2012

B. P. Thompsonand MoralEconomies

Marc Edelrnan

Britirh cultural histor;an Edward Palmcr Thompson ( 1924 93) ,Iisht well hive bccn

a revercd ancestor fbr today's anthropologisrs, but instead he is Jikc a specter whosc

traccs ir€ ub;quitous but who remains aLnost invisible. Thompson was a socisl

constructiorlist bcfore social constructionism, a fervent antistructuralist bclbre ftepoststmctunlist turn, 3n carly ProponeDt ofthc ;mportance of"agen y" and "exPeri

irce" in social analysir, ud a tcn.rdous polcmicist :uld milihnt intclcctual before

anthropology embraced activism. Yet whilc Thompsot]'s ideas pcrvrdc contemPor'ry

Inthropology, his direct irlluence ir acknowledgments, citltions' explicit recognition

is Nrprisingly slight. A search (in lune 2011), of thc Americar AntluoPolosical

Association's onhr Anthrosourcc databasc, which indcxes over 30 journals and

profcssi<nal ncwsletters, tufns uP scxnt oentions of E P ThomPson lust one of the

t0 €ontributions iD lonathrn lany xrd Mauricc BIoch's M|nq an'l the Mamlity of

L,tcb,'"re (t959) m.nnorc Thonpson ( d that h a foomotc). Adam Kuper's Cllatn(1999), similarlt quotcs Thompson oDce, but ot y iD a largcr d;scussnrn ofRaymond

will ms. Remto Rosald(ts important cssay "Celcbrating ThomPsonk Heroes: Social

Analysis h History 3nd ADthropology" ( 1990) was citcd a merc cight tim€s in the t$'o

decades after it was published (accordnlg to Gx)gte Schohr) Of thc 1l essavs in

Ksttlerinc Browne and Lynne Milgnm's Eronomics &Ml Mofu i4: Antbr|fol\r;calA?lroach,.!. only rwo cite work b-\r Thompson ind onlv one considers it in anv depth

(Liitle 2009 ). trreft Zig( n,in Morabtr: An Anttr|poloti."l PcrlPective (2008:70J2 ),

.:tcvot ' a fcw p"-grrpls to l'homPson, but misrcads him as benlg concemcd with

"pcasant food riots" whcn the "crowds" that Thornpsor ( 1971 ) analvzed ir his lamous

"Moral Economy" articlc ( 1 97I ) actualy cons;sted oltinncrs' coll.iers' wcavers' hosierv

workffs. and "hbournrg pcople," mrDy ifnot most ofthem urbro'

i()3n Vincent's massive tonre AntboPotoqty 'tnd

P\lititt (1990: 403) describcd

Thompson as "extrcmely influential" in pcrs:nt studies xnd suggested that his notion

A C|npnnr, r0 Mor"l A"tht|tarrl, Iist Edition Edited 6v Didier fas\nr'

O 2012 jlnm Wilev & soN, h..lublished 2012 b{ lohn lvile-v & Sons. rnc

50 MARC rr,rr.M**

of moral economy wrs "immensely attractive to political antlropologists," althoughshc acknowledgcd obliquely that much ofthis "ittra.tion" actmlly certered less onThompson than on Imes Scoft's TLe Mofutl Econo$r of the Pe&sant (t976). vincentrlso view€d Thonrpson iis a fouDdadonal figue in legal antbropology (particulirly his

Whi!! and. Ha\ten,1975) and io efforts to qrestion 'the consensus model of law"(1990: 422 423). Several anthropologisis in the broad movement to bnng history

"bickin" (e.9., Gcrald Sidcr,Iein:tnd ]ohn Comar,ft) refer to Thompson in pa$ing,but mairlly to invoke his name as lcgitimation fbr dreir orvn nrtellectual projects.

Thompson colabonted briefly with ]ack Goody (Gooc\ et d. 1978), one ofthe few

mthropologists on the editorial board olthe progressive joumal -l'ltrt d-J'b"rr, buton m anthology lhat alDost exclusivcly involved Euopean social histor;ans. Benjamnr

Orloret (1997) analF;s of an early tirantieth-century urban lix rn,t in Chile

cmployed a Thompsornan moral economy liamework, bttt this was unusual for the

anthropological literiture in its explicit, extensivc adoptioD of Thompson's nodel.Williarn Roseberry ( 1989), almost alonc amons anglophonc anduopologists, dealt at

length and appreciatively ilbeit criticaUy - lvith Thompson's theoretical legicy, buteven he vras more enamored of k].mond Williams, whom Thompson lsmbasted in ablistering 1961 attack in Nrv LeJt Revierl.

This essay points first to intefclatiols betq-een Thompson's bn)graphy, thnrking,and methods that help to explain his theorctical orientation and scholarly pnctice, as

wcll ,s anthropologists' rclative negl€ct ofhis work It dren examincs rhc origirls and

subsequent t.ajectories ofthc coocept ofmoral econom,v, rr$ably dre contributionby ThompsoD that his hid and continucs to have thc mosr impact in anthropolog]and allied fields. The essxy rho attempts to furthcr uopack the prolbundlv Foliricrlcontent ofThompson's concept of "moral" and argucs that his research agenda and

scholdy concerns wcre incxtr;cably bound up with his life as aD rctivist so much so

drar it is impossiblc and indccd misleading to speak rboui one and oot the othcr.

EARLT LIFE oN THE LEFT

R€ad€rs who were not rnrcd h leli-wiDg families betwccn the 1930s and the 1960s

or who werc not otherwise immcrscd i,r the sectariin politics ofthxt period nliy 6ndit difficult to comprehend the sourcc of the paisn)nate, acerbic, polemical stylc ofargum€ntation tllat p€rmcat€s L. t'. Thompson's vriting. Thompson was a man and

an inte ecrual ofthe t-eft bclbrc hc becane a historian aDd hc ncvcr ccascd bcnrg a

militmt .nd activisr. This simple rcality is the necessary starting point for ana\zingThonpson, even it it ;s ignored or downplayed in thc rumcrous social scicntjfic

€xegeFs that abstract fiom politics his contnbutions to thc "rgcnc,v" vcrsus "struc'ture" debate, to undcrstandings of law ot to discussions ofmoral cconomy. As Bryan

his blists of intcreftion wdc powered by ese a\ wcll ds by 1o!e. xvcn whcn he raswhisperidg for cflacr his voic. ws loud, lis prcsentation dtumric, Ns Ncry word drdgesturc ihcarically explosive. W1rc[ Thomps,n sct his sighrs on an c\i1, it $'as widl a

cdnon, drd he would 'ever

ht n slip by... His pld.c ofchoice... was one ofopposirion,a rone ofuntulGlled political €ngagem.nt rcgisreled in retusrls that {e.e as consistentlypo*ertul as they werc unfaiJingly inpolitc. (1994: 8)

r. T- H{)MPSON JND MORAI ECONOMIIs 5IThompsoD .cad history at Cmbridgq btrt he ncver did graduite work. He joined

tAe Communist Party of Grcat BritaiD (CpcB) a. rge 18, in 1942, before cnteringdre military. Hc saw comblt as a tank connandcr and fbndtv rccallett the wrrmqcl,orncjrJ rhc wh( hc rcLcited,,, ,m. l vjtJsc. iI Lbrrurcd irrtr $hcn t,e woutdrLlinrih hrm\clf r\ a -conrnJc.- lo owing rtre rar hc pani,;rpared L !otunrccrcoNtruction l,rigades nr Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, wherc his clder brother had diedwhile fighring with communist pnrtisans igainsr thc Nrzis. His formation as a historjanowed at least is Druch to experienccs iike these and to the CpcB Historians, croup(which iDclrrded such lrmnMries rq M n.€ Dobb, Eric Hobsbawm, drd RodDeyHilton ) as it did to Cambridge and thc elite sphercs ofEnglish academia. about whichhe frequcndy cxprcssed mbivatcncc and even contenrpt (Thompson t978b: 38;t99l: 274 275,350 351; lGyc 1995). It was this sroup th:n nurtured his curiositvJltour fi. linls ber$icr E glmJ ' R,{n rri( p,rr, rrrd r.:rh c:Jrn\, J ti\d ionwhich culminated nr lris epic literary political triosraphy of Williim Morris (l95S).Hnlir.r,rcaJernrcposiron$r'inrduh..lucJriolinrhrUnjre,.iaort.ds:I^L--Mur.' DepJflrncnr. i piar Jrc iho\e ..trcci\cty b(.r,r\c ir oncrid rhc Morn, trtcpossitr;lity of'naking sociilisri ar rhe sinre t;{nc as ;t open€d otrt irrro rew avcrues oflcarDingfor hnnself" (PalDrcr r994:65). Thc *-ork that ccrncnted Thompson's schotrrly reputii<tn, Thc Mahing of the Endisb Wofiin| c/a$ ( r 963 ), began .,! a proje( towr;tc a textbook on the Brirish labor movcment f(x exlranural studenrs.

Thonpson abddon€d the (]PCB in t956 rfter Khrushchev's revelarionsabotrt Stalinist repression .nd dre Sovict intervention in Hungary, alorg wirh sone8,000-10,000 other miltints. ..I commenced ro rcasoD h nry rhirty rhird yerr," hehter wotc, "and, despirc my best eftbrts, I have ncvcr been iblc to shak€ thc habito1f'(l978bri).

Together with othcr ex party mcmbers and independent lekists, lhompson helpcdto f<'6d Ner) Left Rerir'r, a project thit was idtialy more th3n a joumal. t Rrcade6' clubs sprrng up :rcross Britain and becamc a signitcrnt curr€nr in thc 1960sNew klt, which prided itsclfo1r its "sociilist humeism', rnd eveutuxltv dcvetopedties to new leli inrcllectuals ard youth aDd rnticolorial .cbeUions €kewherc. tn t963?erry Aiderson, the n€wly appointed editor, sacked NrJa's fi,undcrs, incltrdingThompson,liorn the editoriat boarct md opencd the journat:nct its publishinghouscto r (sometimcs .ritical) cngagencnt with French structural Marxisrn (Arderson1980: 114 115; l'rimbcrger 19841 217).

In 1965, not long sfrer the publication of Tbe Mak;nlt nf the End^h Worhing Ct&ss,Thompson movcd to the Univcrsity ofwanvick to dircct thc Centre fbr tbe Stu.tv of\u.iJl H\rory 'rhi,ugh iI lqTll 'k r.\:g (d r,' Jc\orc hinls(ri ro $rrdlg {rJ ;,, Jserics ofvisiting appoinhnents at other insritutions). Thompson,s Ml,rtry vas, on theonc hand, pirtofa broadcr trend by British Mirxist h;storims toward srld'-irg socialstrusglcs drat includcd Christopher Hill\ (1997 119581) work on th€ EnglishItevolution, tsric Hol,sb.twm's books on prirDitive rebcls :nd bandits (1959, 1969),aDd Rodney Hilton's (1973) aDalyscs of medievlt pe:sants. On thc other hand.M&hinlt ma*ed tbc beelnning ot'Thompson,s prolonged tiootal attack on t|o influcrtiil approrcllcs to socirl historic.I inal).s;s. The first vrs "serial" quantirarivceconomic histo.y, widl promincnt proponents in Cambridge rrd Chicago and amongthe Arxnles group in ldis. The secod war the structural Marxism of Iruir AlthusscraDd his foll{nvers (Althusser 1969j Althusser and Balibar 1971).

52 ir,qrc rou-lr,c,\

fhompson's indignatioo about Louis Atthusser and his epigones was roote.l norjust in nisgivhgs abour thcir sclematic, ahistoncat vi€w of socixi chaDgc or thenscorn for "sociJist humanisn\" btrt in diftirrcnces between tieir rcspectivc political

'rricfl,'rii\. Wl ic lh,{Ip.ofl Icfi rh( ( P('B,l(r rhc t056 c\enr\, Atrhus\cr hr,t

ioin(J rlk I rcnt.h C,'mnuni.r trr) ,l( F, in lo48 .Id c\cnl|rrlty be.rmc ir, oftic,atphilosopher, chirged wirh developnrg r scholistic philosophical system rhat, atier1956 and especially aficr 1968 (!vh€n rhe PCI allowcd him a ccrtain lecrvay to rlirtwith Maoisrr), vould keep leftist inte ectuals loy to the par+ AlrlrLlsser, inThompson's view, l]ot only misscd thc IC!,s heroic involvement in the Rcsistarce;his theory ofmodes ofproduction wasa pseudo sophis.icatcd version ofstalin'spamphlets ott M,trritm nnd Linguistics and or Dialecti t &ntt H^toricat Ma.teria.Iis%.wlrich had been sxcred wrir in the inrernational communist movemenf ,(When rhe

ltlsn)Ds werc finally disp€lled, in 1956,,,Thompson dcclarcd, ..ir wls Althusser'sbusnress to sew tp peoplc's eyes and block thcir eas, to pur the whote corrupr structure off;rlsehood back in i mo.e sophisricated &,rm,, (r978b: 132) l

THoMpsoNts "ANTIIRopoLocrsst AND AN1ltRopol,oclsts' NEGLECT

Thompson was researchng and w.itins his most influeltiat historicat works at a timcwhen Althusser-hflucnced strucrural MarJdsts w€re iscendanr ir lrrench (MauriceGodclier, Claude Mcillissoux, Pieffc lhitippc R€n Emmanuel Tcrriy), British (BarryHindcss, Paul Hirst) and US (Mrrshal Sanlns, tonarhan Friedman) anrhropolosv(and h Ldin Aarcrican cspecieliy Mexican - anthropotogy as rvell, althougiThompson wrs likely unau,are ofthat). Rcnfto Rosaldo srggesrs rhat Thompson's'disagreemenrs with mthropology rescmble his attacks on Louis Althusser's structualism and his critiquc ofRaymoDd WiflianN, Dorion ofcutturc as consensus,' 09901105,. I w, rrld .ugge.r m\rcrd rh I homp',n ncvcr r(J) .ngagcd ,.riou\ty srt, rhcdn'enity ofvicws ald approachcs withnr rndropology. Indeed, he conlbssed that hisknowlcdge of tbe discipl;nc was '.intermifteot ani.t eclectic,' (1978a: 247); thar hcoversimplified Raymond Williams'work h the intcrests ofwinning ar arguncnrj andthit his polcmic aganNt Alrhusser urused him mtrch morc than trb rather tepiddisegrecmcnts $irh anttuopololrists, rs Rosildo acknowledgcs in a footnote aod asanyone who compxrcs fhompson\ 1978 essays on ..Fotktore, Anhropology andSocil History" 1d "The Poverty ofTheory" will itnmeditely appreciare.

Whilc Thonpson looked askmcc at the ahbtorical p()cliviries of Brirish socialanthropology nr i6 structttral flDctioralisr phase, he was not avuse to usingit as a foilagainst econom;stic intcrpretations drat purportcd to exphh ivorking,class collectiveaction with gnphs of price movements and that Ailed to takc account of popularcxperience and expcctations. :lhese, he commcnted, $,erc a maDif€station of

the sclizoid nrtcllc.tual clinare, $hich pcrmits this qruritative hisroriognphy ro.o exft (h th. sane places and somerimcs in th€ same mhds) with a sociat mthropolosywhich derives lion Durkheim, Weber, oi Malinowski. We how att abour th. deticatetissu. of social noms dd .€cipro.ities which rcgularcs the life of Trobriand isldder..nd lhc psycbic energies itrvolvcd in the cargo cuhs ofMclanesiat bur at une potu thisiDfirtely comrlex social crearuc, M.lanesian mu, bccom.s ( our histoiies) the

F- II, TI{OMISON AND MORT1L ECONOMIES 53

eightecnrh.ccntdy English collier$fio dlps his hand spasmodically upon his stomrch,dd.esponds ro elencntiry cconomic s nrli. (r97r: 78)

'fhis nromcntiry invocation of Durkncim and Malinovski, ho\€ver, was little morcthan an adroit rhetorical dcvicc. Thomps()n sarv no placc for his ;ntcr€st in socialconflicr and class-specific cultures in the antihistorical social sciencc of Durkhcim,RlddilTe Bft'wn, Parsons, mtl l-tvi Snauss, all ofwhom itl varyins ways €Ddnsizedcquilibrium, stasis, and the generic charx(tcrhtics ofparticular groups or evcn ofal ofhumanity (Thompson r978a).'? History for Thonpson qas, above a , thc dhciplineof "contcxt" and 'procesr." fh;s mcant studlng cvidcncc $'ithin i6 lvhol€ hilroricalcontext,' rincc 'cach fact crD be g;ven mcaning only within an €Dscmble of orhcrmearings." "Context" wxs a fbrm of 'disciplift" igainst "abstnct typologicd air"rrd, Thomps()ll b€lieved, 1vould almost always render rhc lattcr worthlcss (1972,

r978a). ".lust as thc historian who is innoc€nr of alduopological discipline may

impose 20th-ccntury .ategorics won lTth'ccntury mat€rial," h€ wrotc, 'so thcanthropologically tr,ained may be in daDgcr of imposing catcgorics fiom a wholydifferent social culture ... Thc increasnrg tcrrdcncy to abstract somc anthropologicdor sociological turdhg lrom i$ context, and to t'louish it around is ifit w3s posscssed

of some intrinsic value as a typolog,ical f:rct about all human societics is activelyiniurious to history" (1972: 43).

This emphasis on 'contcxt" also implied €xtreme cautio itbotrt cross-.r tural ortrxnshistorical comparisom and.laims:

Thc prin.iplcs which cao be takc| rcrc &om onc $cie!.' ro rhc odrc d€ few, dtlnughlrge h sig.ilicanc€j for $rmpl., rhe notion that ifa communitr t elic!$ that nagicworks, ir rvill, within limits, u,ork Ghe nan who is cus.d will bcconr€ ill, ih€ dricfwhokno{s rhlr drc wizdd n searchtus him oul will, lin ftar ofdiscovcry, iet(n thc stolcn

soods ...). (1972:47)

The historian, Thompson maintained, had toundcGtand evidence in close rclarionship to tfie cultural sctting in which it was produccd. Concretely, this involvcdamarsing other, similff evidenc€ Fom the snmc pcriod ind ncirby locdcs; intcrrogdting the facts h rclation to othcr kDovledgc ibout the ways ofl;ti, the languagc,

rnd thc subiectivity of the p€ople who produced them; and accounting fbr "theconditions ofrecording and preservation ofthe fact" (Calhoun 1994: 230). This t'?s"historical logic" and the corc ofThompson's ntcthod, and he saw it as somcthiug$holy distincr from and often opposed to :rnthropologicil practice and th;nking.l

Evenworse ftxThompv)n rvns rhrr antlropologists did notsccm to get it.In "ThcPovcrty ofTheorv." ThompsoD rccalled bcing

in cmbridgc as 1 gucst et a scminar ofdistioFish.d ifttuopologists, wben I was $kcdto just-S a proposition,I rcplird ihar it was validatcd by'historicd logic." My courtcou\h6rs dissolvcd nrt, undisg iscd laught€r I shared itr dre arNscmcnt, ofcourscr burI $?s also lcd to rcilc.t np()n the "antbrcpological" sigrfic cc oith. €xchangc. For itis cusromary sddin th. rituals ofrhe r.ademy n)r the prlcdrioncrs of di*n.€nt disciplincsto profes rcsp.ct, lot so rnuch tbr thc findin8i of each othels disciplin€, as for thcauthdti. .rcdentills ofrhar disciplinc irkli Artl if 1 s.mina. of historirDs wcre to laugh

at a pbnGophcr's o. anrhrcpologr.st's vety credt tid&, (tbat is, thc logic or di$cipline

54 [r,al|c EDrt-n.\'\

centhr to rhcii pnclice) this wonld bc rcsarded as an ccasion for ofilnce. And rtrsignfic$ce of rlts cx.hange wd that ir iras ve.y Beneralty slppokd rtDr .,hisrorv, wasJ,' e\c.p,:,,n ro n. I Jle: rlur hc JF. rptDc ..r'idt ro ir. frJcr.c( uJ\ n .\ cdlon hrlaughrerj Dd thar, so fi. fton raking offeDcc, I, as a practitidrr {.ould joiD n th€laushrei nyselt (1978b: 37i emphasis o.isinal)

Anthropologiits' relarivc negle.r of Thonpson cinnot be simpty exptxined rsreciprocity or rctaliation fbr his less rhan ftendly attitude towad thcm or, ;s Rceldosuggests, because the pcople they wrirc about ..trave cultural traditions whose antagonisms differ fion our o*n" (1990; 119). Thonpson,s epistenology aDd fonn ;fargumeot arc.halleDging for mthropologists_a Hc rarely made his theoreticat pren-ises explicit, but radcr sought to construct arguments by adducing more anctnorecases ard an nnassailably massivc rccretion of detail until he had b lt a conclujjvcarfiument-5 His crpositioD was recusile and nonlineaa intenvovcn with tieN diatrih.sag.urv adrer.,:nrs l:rgc .rnJ .mJll. ta.r 'tnd pri\errr. Lrkc Marr. hi, largruge i. ofrrnambiguous xn.l, surprisingly and ro the disappointment ofsone critics, he displayedar "apparcnt lack of interest in th€ c€onomic workins ofcrpnalism" (Wood 1990:136). Morcover, h;s advenanal stancc ris !,vis potiticat and scholar\ oppon€nts wasdoubtless troublesomc for the disciptine,s remaining rcsirivisrs. who masked theirpartialitics in rhe supposedly valuc Fee, neurrJt langragc that Thompson eschewcct

Thompson also wrote culture bound, vcry tsnglish $,orks rhat posc chalteoges torcaden outsidc Enshnd. At over 800 pag€s, his magisrerial book on The Mqhinll oJ.the Endkb Worhin! Cl@ts is an intricate, beautilirlly and passionrtety wrinen work. Itassumes not ody considerablc background abour irs most fimous protagonists(Willirm Gbbctt .nd William codwiD, amons ortrcrs), but ;tso a fne graiDcdknowledge of English regions and social types. Commenting on coDsasts beweenIrjsh emisrants lrom differcnt regnnN of Iretand, tbr e{amplc, fhompson explainsthat they "differed as grcady Fon each other ar Cornish labourrs and Manchestercofton spinnes" (1963: 430-431), an allusion not recessarily acc€ssible to thoseunschoolcd in the Drinutiae of EDgtish history and g€ognptry. This..English" predisposition is €very bit ls inrense in subsequcnt writings as iD rh€ M&ti"g.In; D72essay he questioned why r colleague's list ofmob attacks oo ..a.so[isrs, witcies, andscolds" incl ed an action "against ,a skiDrmirgron,', (1972: 50) :md. in vet anothcrsorl. hc rncnooncd rhJr lo. rl rurh,'riric\ rirr.t rgaLr.r perq otrtnJ.n u h,, rrrctudcJ"badgers, forestallers and reg.arors" (1991:263), exprcssious that surelv sent morerhin onr re{dclrmning lor r di(1r,nJrv. Thomp.nl trim.ett $,j\ ,",.. of 'li.difficulty, admifting that "thcrc is, perhaps, too much sensibitiry nixed up wirh nythought - a relapse into an ,English iajom' which may contuse internationalcxchanscs" (1978b: iii).

THr MoRAr EcoNoMY

ID his r978 essay on "Iolklorc, Anthropology and Sociat History," Thompson quotedMrrc Blo. h's lrr Hrtrsan , CraI I l9r3t- notit)g rhrr -r,, rtrc grcJ| dcArir,,t:lxnorians, men fail to change their vocabulary every tim€ they chaoge theircustoms." Any

!- r' rlloMlsoN AND MOIL{L ECONOMTES 55

,nlcstrurrion of moral dconom). thd asP"! ofTh"mpsun \ $r'rk with th€ grdaR\r

..'"""i.. ","i.r. lndm.r ari bevonJ $c '[\'rPl$( ol his'rv' uould do well to

i"J st.l,t "a-""i;*. l his section c{amines 'l'homPson's use of moral cco,nornv'

il".-tt- "j' in" w,rr-,' M,'rr'. P rssins throusl\ Th Maki'ta oJ'th" L"tish.work"lB

CiLrnJhis Leleb.reJ l97l rticlc on'Thc Morrl Ee"nomv ol tltr hnglrrh cro$"'r

JJ. i"r'i*"* c-*rn" and culmimtins with his rcEosPc'tivc cssav'Thc MoEl

ii"*,m; Re'iewcd" ( l99l ). Follownrg this discussion, I tLrrD to thc appropflaton

and trrniformation ofthc concept bv scvenlother $holars" irr.","'.'r:' "t".'

' '"orrl

' iri nrorrl cc"nrnl c''rfl'tcd ru' irrrcffclJrcd mcrunts'

oflhe word Lcomcrimc\ vith morc cmlha{is i'n I'nc lhJn rhc r)therl lhc tr\t rq

;,""."f" - ."f",i"" ro "[rorcs" or custoars' with both understood as historic']

".-".'. *".."tf'f" '*.^\oven irl I 'ocial l'bric rTho'nPson wrs partirl Io $ertints

;.;;;; r,,.':i;" ;,nifcrLrrion of tu' svrnpath) wi$ rns t ud'rr( subir.t\r' thc

,.co;d rncJnins. or -morrt- rctrrcs r,, r pnncitl.d {JnLc \b-d \rs soc'ery, rnc q'otur.

;;..;.j,X" ;" .".,"on good. wirh thc lrtter de rirred h"th in rcrm\ oliusromaJv

.i-i"',"i "i*l* *pr.rtio-n* l tuslrlis'hl thc lJricr' tururr-orier)rcd utopiin r\p<' r

;il;.;"; ti;," i"uncreorlv rccolnizcd dime'rsiorr of rhomPsont Lon'tPtion

"i:,1'.:."ri: onen v,eucJ rt rcsrinjonlvon lorrs\trndirrg curtom in'i .' ix' 'n

and bc(ruse rr pro\rJes I connciting ttucrd rh'r linls hi\ hi(toricJ retr( h Mth nr\

co"'mitment t,, th. pea.e move$ent in the I980s (scc bclow)-'rt',r".*,'"'. *"i"' ,'l -th. mr)rai'$a alrtrdy evidcnr in hi\ fiBr hook' on.Focr

*a ,.,liri-. *,i"i', willirm Mt,rri{ { I('ss r' borh o a ' rrcgor u of Jn}lsi\ rnd 3s a

,ltn* rn;f'"t.a rc his protagonist ln describitrg the €arlv nineteenth'centurv

context, he wrotc drat

The kribl. F, i,pheri( risn 'n ',1

Blrtc $ ar bc(onu g rcdl^J All (JNr N'r'tt'dming

;l;J ;';h'ii"' "",,r..'r

\rluc\ "t rhc m"kct. I lir'' bcrns Liousl't rnJ "'l'l rtc Fk'Inirrd.n rL rhi sou.e tt rhc R'rmrnri' Rc\dlr - lbr th' ticcinB ot mJnkrnd rum a

.,1""", "rp*'"'"", ;;., r'. hhc'rln oims\'(n'c: 'rfc'riom 'nd

rsun' ior equlrry

t.nri." ii." ,na s.r**" rhe *rc' rse hcing J*uov(d hv crth new trd\ince or

iDdosirill clPitalism ('l homPson l9ssl 43)

AccorJi[s ro Thomp\orr, Morri\'s in'Piraii' Idcn\'dn"'iu'r Fro'n tbn conrcnrPo

.;'':il;;;;.t, ;'", riom -Lhc utopian asprr'ion< or rhc Pcrs'"ts or-nrercvai

;;';:;,;;,h",,,'igt'r.a m"nl rn'lignation of \ir [homr\ M' trc ' ' ress: 842r'

;':.;;;;;'; '; "tocrrt rhe dtcl'ntivc rrs' p"rrti*J I'rsJ znrs Porirtcar

,r.li"i,u*, ""i ""-r,r.ism werc' Thontpson h"r€nts' all "muddlcd" rt bcst lnstc'td'

Morn'. Jhim n' glcrtns mbr bc founded nor un rnv {n8le-'1'ntrihurion ro } 8lFh.

.uhurc. ,n ,n( fi,:ld ionc. brrr on rhe guliw shid' unitct rl rnrormr c!cr) r\F( I 'rii' i,. ."4 ""'r' Tt'r' *Jin nrght ier hc Jrsnb*l * -tnor'l r'Jnm' it F rh'

.-.n.,i-",,r"',."r" "ilri' hr(;nh $in\ !dmirJri'n fr Proro rnli mi'r'r :n\rshr "i

i;;:;:i ;;";;: *"iins' wh(h Bs* thcm rrri Mordr nc'\cr'oushr r" JFsli{

ii.';;; il;il;;;:iionrrdtair"^1r""r' rtr('n'mJrion or hi"'u'lr'('k'nJin guidins bis actions. (I955: 828)

This individual qualitv w*s, horvcver, nrsepaable' fiom broader historical prmess

and social struggles Moffis's

56 M^Rc !D1jLN!AN

moral crircna *crc dcrilcd til,m his undc.si dhg ofthe unfoldiDg asPnations ofm€D

h history, and hjs direcr pcrccption of"realliviry mcr" in tht l.e*nt. Eve.y tioe hc.utrlrough arl thc casu6trics dd soPhistier ro the rdderll'ing noml realitics' rhe Mkcd

.ntas;nism ofcla$q, thc red miscry ofthc cxPlohed PeoPlcs, thc actualdenialoflifc irr

clpiralisl socicty. (1955: 835)

The MarinA of the Engli'h Wolkir1t Clats (1963) .onr''ns a far morc dcvelop€d' ifstill somcwhat inchoate, lotior of moral cconomy. Thc contexr and Period - rhe

industrial revolution -arc csscntiallythe same as the.a:Jy Part of WiU;a, Mo''tit,bnrthc Romantic pocts reccdc urd popuJar complsirts and voiccs take ccnter stage

Thomp$n rnumerates 'thc gricvances f€lt bY \t'orking Pcople a! to changes in the

chaficter of capitalist cxploitition":

rhe ns€ of a masterdass withort tndirional authontv or obligatiorsi th€ grosing

disrucc bctwc.n mstcr aDd mini rhe rrinspdcncy ofthe cxPloitidon at dlc sourcc oftheir ncw wcalth and poweri thc los of statd and above all of nftcp'ndcnce for thc

workcr. his r.ducrion ro roral dePcnd€lcc on thc ma\r€r's insiruments ofProductioq th'nrrnrlirv of Lhc llwi rhe dFrufri ,or thc dldiuonrl trmrlv e't'nontvr rht dts'tplirtc

m,rorony, bous rnJ (onil,d,'ns r,l$ork. los ol lci'urc 'nd JmrniDcsi lrndl thc

rcduction ofthc lnd to thc status of.n "instrum€nt." 11963.202-203)

This tension beivecn working pcopl€'s historical experiencc, .ratomary practices,

and moral expectnrions, on tlrc onc hand, and thc cruel €xigcncies ofthe ncw indu$tr;al

capitJist ordcr, on the othcr, is the ccDtral cxphDatory PrinciPle in Thomps<n's

mallsis of eah nnreteorth ccnrury rvorking class politics All the elemcnts of what

latcr bccamc his more ariiculatcd thcory of mor.l economv c therc, though the

phrase itsclfmal€s only x t'ew rppctnnccs in the €ntirc t€xt (1963: 67, 550) One ofihcsc is in connectnrn with ThomPson's discussion ofthc Luddite rvcavers and st()ck

iDgcrs, x,hom purdirs, politicians, and historians (t'ourgcois 3nd Marxist) to this dav

caricature as rchaic rcacdoffiries becausc oftheir aftacks on fa.tories and machincry'l hompson, instcad, sitnrtcs the l,udditcs in a sctting lvhe.e patcmalisr Protcctivelcgislation had bccn ibrogated, where ncw conon mils confiDed clild laborcrs and

beat down rvagcs, and rvhcrc pride in cnft ccdcd to pitiless crPloitation' and erstwhile

irtisans wcrc reduccd to 3 "dePendeDt" state The sense of gerrcralizc'l outrage 'nd

violition this g€ncrat€d "gavc a sanction to thc I-udditcs ind aftbrded them

prorection'in thc communities in which th€v livcd:

Th. 'nc." h.torv'os .e. or l{sc hosier or cofton-mduh'tu'er' who btrilt hit forrune

b]' thcsc Incds, was rcs ded not only with je.lousv but as ! nan eng'shs in t'd'lala;d t/,/r/ practiccs. Thc lradirion ofthe ju$r Price {dd dre l.rir wasc livcd lon8cr monsthe lo*$ ordc.s" thm is som.timcs suPpo*d l h.v sw las'zt'l" nor as freedoN'

bur s "fo lmrrosition." Thcy could sct no "natural hw" bv $'hich onc nran' or a few

men, cotrld eDsigc in Prdcticcs which brousht nriniFst injLrrv ro rldr f'll()ws (1963:

549: €dphrsis origidJ)

Morcovcr, Ludditc direct actior ms Dor rn atavisn or a manif€station ofapoliticilor 'prE political' spont rci+6 It had, Thompson mairtain€d' tuturc orientcd,

proforndiy democranc elements nnd wis both spontancous afld Highly orgrnize'I'

d€p.ndins on thc moment md the localiry.

I

Fr p. THoMPSON eND MOnAt, ECONOMTF.S Szon.rhc,)ne hand ll look.d bJ, kqJrd ro otd (u{oh\ JnJ prcrnihr tcgi\huon whichcould udcr bL resvedi or drc orhcr b.nd*,.1,r,.r, ,,"" p."..i."1. r;;i."",i; il";.'lJi,lill,.ffi:,,111:::::*""i.-",;fff"[$rS€i rfie condot or drL -<qearDc., 01$omh) ih.."".^'.i"l ;" r ;;*ii.;iJ,l::l'" l''nrre5i dbitmri'{i rhe cnsatemrtrt

,,i *,,aty *o*, *. .i5',,_;;;;il J;1:'; :l*il*lilii lliH:i';lll,li,iTllll,-werds. .r, m,'..h J{ br twrrd.: rnd rhcy con ineJ Ki,f,i. ,f,.n, , ,rr",r,,* ,--..,. -ll(r rucrr or J plrc,nari\r, hur oir dcn,o,hti( t,,mhu*",. "r".i, r,a,."lJ?"*i,sh,{rd b*ecdhrcd J(citrd,ns roerh,arpnori,rcsJFtt rh.1',;^,,,, ",0..,;l

J*],i,i_,,.,jt, nunrin oeed! {1463:551 Ss2t

,._tll.Try" bcsan fi€ rcscrrch reprrcd In -rhe MomJ !.c.,nomv .)l rhe F.nslishI ruwd ir thc E'ghr.rnth ( crrrurv- , laTl , whild hc "* ,*r,,i"g ,f,. p"S. nr;.?r;irhc Makint oI th? r-.nthsh wo*in, cta,,. n.rn_1"r,r". .o,,,ia.*i*. ,l'uij i."a.-r".praib,! r,fru'hirg inro pnnr, rhis 60-njsc Jfliclc $rs rhu! rt-*, ,d.-j.-", ,fr.rnrung. OriBinrly conrci\<d.\ r comp ri.on o'are eighrccnrh *",,.u o"*l,"f, "riFrcnch gnin riots. in c.ll.r',xJ,;on wi; Richard C"uo _a c,*,, #,it"-.,?i,. ,illpr('ic.r tett rhrough for r.$.n,s Tt,nmfson profcseJ n,,r ,,, ,"rn.,nu.;:;:.,;rudror ulrirn'cty pubtish.d r.sutrs seprnrcty.- In 1."** n".^*.Jr, ,n..,_o,.",lln,cnrurv. Thomp\on {,,utshr ru etucidrrc hoth r}:e pn,iimart .";:,;,;::i:'.i:l:j

nc"ta.ti!r' hc hAtt J,,ermcnrcd n MBh,aB r^,t h s,;,,",,. ;i; ";;,;d;;ilfi';rcriod bcnvren lingtrnd.s -rootrrtionan,. ,"r.nt..nrh ..,u,,ry _j ,r" ,r.r,l"t .n-r..'vcsccncc of its nirrcteenth ccnturw ",t.h'e l,

'"... ;* ;,;; ;;";;il;;;:::i;, -1;t:lif":i;::'ff lfi,*lf "l#!;.rnd c\,rmins r qu$rion rMrcn do gricr.urcr rr cinrr.,s ;c.uh Ln .,,rr".,i"" ,i*,,,,i,rhrt hrvc mrde ir ofendurirrg inrcrcsi tor socrJ scienrisrs

. Thc rorrr..c .,t y{i,t lrrrcrr irl Thomfsur \ -H,rFlish Croud., IrJ iD rhc ren{ronbcnvccn .rw.,

m,dcts ot cconomy. ,ir m,,."t (.n;my of i.d._, :il;; ; ;;poo, anJ whcr urc cighreenrh rcj,rury ( huirrs rrrl orlcr critic, ";;l;;,ji;.cJpirJi\m crlled 'hc

*potirj(rt .c,.omy- cspousc,..i bv -quaLls- ttoqt.3Jo 3;'I hh riicrioir iDlohd Lhc pr,tongcd dcmisc oir rt,,ip",.-.,l;'r, ,"s.J";";;'_;.^anr.rrrerr ilsori,:rcrr r*umpno,,s i,, rr," r,* .r.*.pi"f ri.*;;::;';lr,[,J".J:;markcrs. trr rhc erchrecnrh ceDrurv,h. Fnorish p,,p,t:,i,;, ,;,;il;;;;;; ;"ld:"]",'ut\i.rcJ lrgc\ ,,rr hrc,rdr rrr.rdc riom qh.-,r. .1.. c,,,r, b,rtcv. oJ$. drl D.r( .r h.."sr. nr rand lcsumc\)""d rr'. br.Jds m. c rr,,m rh",",b,;;j;;;,,";,:;.:::l:hicrrrchy rhJr jnrk.J (rr,s. rcsion, r,d rJsrc. Rcd,,.;;;,;;;il; ;;;J" fr;. ;::l:li:cmci1,m,l

..orTer." drkcr n),xfirrcs. esp<iJtr",,r,,," ",,a

p",,, "r,.r,."., i",,dru couro mt)rc ersrh co,rceai rdutr(rMt5. wcrc Lh. rvcnrncc or rhc p,rrr. ,t{o-."..

r n(,mpv'n nor.\ rrrJr dcmrnd tor Lorn or brerd is hight) iu.r^,,c,:Wt,." t ..r.t-i,co:dlr.+c l,,x,r Cs orc hishtv placcd observer w$ once remi')ded) do n(,. g" .,..,"

;i:..; y.'-l :il r,,dcR,. u, n,c}l riin$ rhey may <:rr m,rrc hrcrd ro .,r.il' ,;,.,r,.ross or,)ther, morc cxDclsivc food(

,Lrl ld cu'ro,n in cighrccnfi (<nrury t-,rgtsd di.rrrcd rhJr grrn (ruu b,r sold'rlv in rlrc pLrbtic muker. rr c,,nrro cd tri(e\, rnd wirh **,f",.a ".;"r".l"irncr\urc<. I rrmer\ $(rc n,,r pcrmincd r., scl rlteir or,pr, Lr.rirr. n "* h"rr:"*a, ,oq irhhold rh(ir .ro.ks F,,m r_he markcr in rh. hope itrJr t .i.., ,,nght ,i_., ," d;"i;;inrcnncdirrics. or ro \cLl smgti -samptes..(,fsra,n,'n ,r,.i,

"-,, L.l "*,.r.

r,a,r,]lp,'r wcre tcrnrrrc(t ro makc rhcrr purch.s* rirr, t..rb." ,h. t";"r';;rt;;;

-

58 M^R(r EDETMAN

"factors," whosc operations werc '.lhedged around with many rcstrictnDs " Millers

and bakeB, similrrly, wcre required to make suttcieot sopplies of the "coa6€r,

houscbold" flours ind br.ads and werc considcred 'iser\aots of the community)

workins not for a profit but for a f'air alowance" (1971: 83)'

ln the eight€cnrh cntury this traditioral framework for Production and provisn'n

came ude. increasnrg pressurc as firmers, dealers, millcr, arld bakers took advantage

ol a modcrnizing agricultrrre and a rapidly tiberalting economy to circumvcnt th€

rules and ro press for what today miglrt bc called ftrthcr deregutatioo The violations

ol widely hcld expe*ations and of hw, ho\'!'cver, provoked thc liequent ire of the

poo., .rpecially ;" timer of dearth, gjvhg rise to seizures ofbrcad' grain ard fl()ur'

crowds' lnsistcnc. on "sctting the Price," attacks on mills' anct thinlv veiled threats

that those who sold "samplcs" at ingatcd prices, who benefitcd from export

"bountics." or who otherwisc trarsgresscd bngstanding exP€ctations would sufer

dir€ consequences. lhonpson demorstratcs that in times of plcnq' the aurhonties

tended to reduce their cnforcement eftbrLs' but "the moraleconony," 'dle old model

remained in inen's minds as a source of resentmeDt" (1971: 85) In scdcitv vcars'

$hcn cuvds forned and riots brokc ort' th€ authorides xftemPtcd to reimPose

tnditiolal practices, rbough $ith dinrinishinei cfTeciivencss over rhe coffsc ofthe cightee;dr centur)'. "Ihc crowd," Thompson iwote' "deived its sensc oflcgitima&)n ... ftom the Paternitist Dodcl [but] in on€ rcsPect the moral economy

oithe crorvd brokc decisivcly with that oftbe pitemalists: for rhe popular crhic sanc

rione.t direct action by the crowd, whercas the values of order underpindng thc

paternalisr model enpluticrlly did not" (I97r:95,98)Onc of Thompson's signal cortributions was ro highlight dre extenr to rvhich

"n rkcts" are pot;t. con'tr,rctio"s and outcomes of clsss struggle He provid€s

copious exampics ofhow "crou'd pressurc" resultcd in pricc reductbn-s' ad hoc local

sui,.idy and .h:rity p.,gr:tnrs, ,ind "Prudcnrial self restnint" on the pirt of flrmers

and dealcn rvho hoped to precludc more injurious popula actions The laner secton

sougbt a mcdium "betwecn a soaring'economic' Price h the nlJJket' and a traditioral

'rnoral'price scr by thc cK,wd" (1971: 126) Tlis occurred, lrow€ver' io "a sma er

and nxrie intcented community" (t971: l3I), Lr a locaiized market' a place not onlv

whclc "working people most often felt the;r exposure to cxPloitation" but also whcre

"they cou'd most casily bccome organized" (1971: 134)'

Thc narket rcnained a social as wcll as u econonic nexrs lt was rh' phce wh€'c oue

hundrcd-and one sciil dd pcAonal timsacrions went oti {'here ncm was pdscd'

rumour aD.l gosip fl€w round, politics ms (ifdcr)discussed in th' i sorwinc shoPs

rrl(1 dre n;kei squde. Thc market was dre Phc€ whdc dr€ Peoplc, because thcv were

nmeious, Llr fo. a noment thar thcv wer€ srors lr9Tl: 135)

"Drre one suggest," Thompson later askcd, "thar market dav could acruallv bc tuDt"

(1991: 3I9). ihat too is why the marketplnce beca$e a neNs ofconflict a'd struggle

ln the eighteenth ccntury the conccpt ol markct or marketPlace thus evokcd a

concrcte kiation, and one rif! with social rclations of'I knds Onlv larer' \'idl dre

demise of thc Dn)rxl cc(Dom)', .lid rhe term "m3rkct" issrrme the m€txpboncal rnd

detcrritorialized qudities that incrcasingly adhere to it The Political slcight of hand

that accompaniej this scnantic shift involved making thc institutbfls and Poliric

--

!. 1- IHOMISON IND MO!.AI ECONOMTTS 59

forces that acturlly shaped mdkets invisible, as wel as creating the appearancc ofarpuate mct antonomous economic domain disembeddcd from society. The grearachievement of Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Thomas Malthus, ard other classical

political economists was, as Michael Pffclman (2000) dcmonstrites, to promote theextensior to new domains of "free" markets; meanwhil€ drcy simult ncously obscu.edthe brutal dispossession that accompanied the spread ofsuch markcts and promotedinrcrv€ntionist mea$rres, which thoroqhly contradicted liissez-faire doctrinc, tofolcc rhc poor to work.

THE ttMrGxATroN" o! MoRAt BcoNoMY

Thc concept ofmoral ecoDony, is Didier Fissin suggestsj is a "bcautiful exrmple oftransdbciplinary migration ..., invented by a historian and imported by a politicalscientist into inthJopolog,v, whcrc it knrw its greatcst success" (2009: 1246). Mrileit might be m exaggerition to mrintr;n drat moral economy vas invcntcd by a

historian, it is doubdess truc that without Thompsor it would never have rttailcdsuch widespread acceptance. This migrrtion, however, has also inevitably invohadshifts in ne3ning. 'foday, mor,rl cconomy has become a polysemic catcgory withmultiple geneakrgical strancls and contemponry intcrprctations.3

In "Th€ Moral Econollv Reviewed" Thompson locxtcd the 6rst menti{rN of"moral cconomv" in tbe late eighteenth and early ninctccnth centunes (1991:336 337). Norcthclcss, there aDd elsewherc he rlso pointcd to several antecedentsthar go mucb turthcr back. to ea.ly modern and evcn ancicnt timcs (1955: 842; l99I:271). Th€se hclud€ the "momi" component ofArirtotle,s l'i*rromirr as a precunorof conte,nporary theo.ies of noril economy or "natural" econonry (f'aussig 1980;Booth 1994) lnd the Dedieval notion of the "jttst pd€c" developed by ThomasAqrdnas (Zigon 2008; Lind 2010).

lmportandy, as w€ , many rccent moral economy studies denvc not so much tiomThompson c from others who h c adopted his termnrology and conceptuilappannrs, particululy political scicntist James Scott (and to a less€r extcnt Ra)'mondWilliaos and Stuart Hall, who colabonrcd with Thompso' on Nrl, Il,ERcrr-rr andlarcr in the 1980s peace movement). There ir, morcovcr, a proliftntion of "moraleconomy" an yscs in mcdic antbropology and elsewhcrc that employ thc tern invays that escape the intentions ot' Thompson and Scott and that at times end upevisccrating the category ofm(\st ofits political and particularly its class content (scc(i,ndusion below).

tn Th' Moral Econ,My ofthe Peasdnt (t976),tamcs Scott hews closely to Thompson'sunde$tinding of "moral econony," though with less emphasis

involvement in local lbod markets and more on produccn' values or morcs. These

included peasmts' notions ol "just pric€s" (in luding "just" rents aDd trxcs), as 1vcll

as othe. sorts ofertidements, such a-s access to lafld, gleanhg and tulring rights, rigltsof wav rcross landowner propcrties, and redistrib(tive mcchrnisms and forms ofreciprociry that linkcd pea$nts with elites and with each other. Scott's ipproach is

also more conce ed witn developing r "phenomenological theory of exploitation"(1976: 16r ). Most peasar}ts in V€tnam and Btlrma, according to Scott, held deeply

rcored vie\s about patron dicot relatn'ns and the right to "subsbtence security"

60 ,u{Rc ED!i"v,t\

aloTo: JS,..thcJninitc\trdIgc emtj/cdr\.nru,rruri\i.\thrlmishlLhrcrre,,,hn{cc,,rirv ,,d J,, u,rc, drcrd or,ho\i -rhrc\horrs.. 0",, ,,nii; i;;;;il..",j;prumrnct downward to huDgcr and Djscry (1976, r rbl.ir,*. ,"1,j...". .i;,,J;ntntstiti,infttnhecomc[(vd(r.rmi,,"-,\ol$t,....

^""rr,;,,.;;t;;.;;:.;i;".'r nr. i'rJid llt on rhc (or)Linuum ber$ccn ,(cmmB, qurc\cencc rnLt oDcL.b.lti-n_-S.orr''

rrrrrrncrrr.,,trJ,,e.,^,, a" i,rr.gr.t pan-.,,, *g.,;;,;,;;;; ;,;',,;:...rrurrn,: sv.rrm ot confiictUdt clr., r(huo ,. t_vc rh{ ot, hi\ h^,,thircl),"'cn,ioh o, .irc\ rhump\o,,.5,,,. .t,,,.d ",,h;-, ;;;;;.;:;,'..,;:..1$ irh ( lJ* (,,| licr Jr.d JJ* bAid L,,flc. rj\ c -. rion. ,._, fr,.., _ ,* -r.r"i0.",,".,,R(vi,,,cd- -,r). rhi,mp*,n burr, p, J'\(J s.",

"".r " ",.Jii, r".;;;,; ;;:;];lu,'ti.r \'h.'hr. w,{k\,,,utJ bc r \Lpfcr} .t,,pc ir rr uen'<jurur.J

riom cti* l'.ty.i,. ..r , rtrr*. ,,n ,rrdr o$ n. mJkr r mo,i t ),,,,".,::'ti)":,,:*. -T.l' $. w| l'e turtu s up momt c,,,jromic. c\cr N hrr(. \4\ own rn,ri.nor rne morJr c(,'r)onv,,l rhc crot\d in rh( tooJ rnrrhcr ,,,,t,,.f"_ ia.l ^.a.f,,,.Itt.:l,,s\

, iur' r. p, Jiri( rt c(.,,om) do. , $ hic.r' :.srgn. rcon, ,rnic ;il ;";;;:;uNorsocrrl t,trce\ I I.r9t: 340lcrnph.\^,,rig.inJl/.

lnrs llr\rstcncc,{r thc ch* dimin\r,,n ot nr,,rJl econurnv lH\ nor D,cvcftrd rtrer,',,c(rr fio,n .!ol\ins,r ri,,m m,^inr .i$rv r.m J nrrow ;:,,,,J.t",,,,;.;;:,ujnrrcs: udtcd r bctd\,,t contli(n,rl ,1.\s r.Lu,rr\. On. of rhe rn,,rr.rrcn,irnntial efforts of thir sot rvrs k,hn rnnsdale,s richly eloqrcnt "."a"

;"ir,. Ul.,lEn{,on,v orMau Miu-, tr)a2,. $ru. h J(hc.,,,ro r.^, , i",i.,, ;.;;.,,;;.::.";,r.o,r{+r !ir -morJt .tru,iciq.- wirJr narv J ,rud ro .irhc, i ;;".;" ";;:,;r !,,sudc po!l\ tnJr ert,tu( iry 6 bnlh j utu\.rsJ :rrJ J lxFt,lv r,r)rilgcnl . unJirio[ lri\ uni!e^J m pr,NidrnF -rh€ idrrrriq rh,:r nr.rtcs rrijr,.rr^;., p'"..j61.:l-'j :', onD,rgc r mJrmuch A ..JU erMiciric\ Jrc rsrdtr Ji.prrreJ- ,,r.1 ir,rru. r -bv m.ntc\(tu\iof- | lao2: 32x, l,c .i,,$ ard .t *r.r.,- i-o;B ,h; dt,.;;;;k. .;;,;:i(reo Nruy'r r(\,,ivcll aro ,rd ,onrc,r,rJ onFi,r n.ric{, tu\roni\

"r'rnin,,,i"" ,",rin._orp,,,',b,r,. dnd'ccri.g ..,, .,. r, ",n..41"+",,;:,';;.:;f ;r;il:l#rir,. rrnnrc'ry rnd Jr\\ rci,rto,..d (rch lher. bur lh( tbrnrcr,*r\ \r\rtr n,^."(,rnplc\ ""d

conrcsrcd rhJ. d.r tJnrr. endmn up , "

b,,,t, .,,;;.., ;;. J.,," J;:]:wlile at the si,"c rime servins *, o" *-uir,tr" ;ai"- fi,..h.;;l;,*, il;*;'"(t992:403).

, MorJl e.onomy. in rhi\ rccounr ot Kjk F .uhic(Evir). conr,roe\ ro bc rlblnc,t b\me.rtecrrrron\ rhllicc.rnprn\ tughtv.ri\cl,,tcd parr, Jrrrrr rehdon\ Jndn-tir.rt

::nrri.' :'elcerl re(ipruc,ri dury rrd ,,,,c sidcd ,,pp,c*ion.. l ronsdatt loo:: :s:.rvr.rrr crrnr,rn r\ nor inrirch (i,rcrnLn,,\ wi r morJl c,,rromv. ho$(vcr, rnrl ir rr

l:-:,:_ol':J::11r", "" Lh:.conrr.Jn. L,lir.dr,. {rrcs- rhc nu,,l,y,,,:ts;;;;;,;,.j'rnr\ sJ thc rmpitrroLc oIoi,rlin .rnJ of ,rnrrgic .:ltirjL$ rrr U,.i*1!. --",..poxr.r\- rhar cro{. crh ir tincs Hcnrggc\rsrhdrFroupdin.rcn.r.rAuatryenrcrtiritcmrne!d\rrJytrJc.be(,{r nts.,:jr.nrontvintrm.utrt1 chrrgcJ. Lrrrc,lucnr conlun,rurcs. Mo,e,vcr. tu;rL rn cihnjc,D. r(.,,rdrns ro Lo"U"r.. I r",.g,"]r, i;"j ";';iu,( tsrowu) .,t rni \rJCl cotorurlJdmrni\Larive rmfer iv(s, rnd lhe ri\e or r -rmnd.'ri!,c 'ibdi:m"r hJr re ks JcLc\\ ro puhti( rcror sood\. k ;;,;.;.U;.;;;;ilj-

tirrmJrion ,c 9.. Fn(.t l,)-5,. hc r\\c.rs dr", ..,"h. *",;,,,, ;,mKnurhcnr.dJ\in\cnrcJ.rt.ra2.i2q,. Ihelevp,,inr tc,.i5rhli,rt,n,JJiat\econom) J d f,r .rsn,ci.rr.d \!,tcnri ir prdy c\ttrin\ in,tudc,

!

D 1. I HOr{tsoN A-lJn MORAL !'CONOMIT'S 6l

a "nativc" undcrstdldirg of \a-ealth lls a reward for rtu€ and hard work slong with

the social obligatnrns that come with having obtaincd riches As Angeliqte Hlugerod

."i"r. ouln rn anrll'i' t,l monl ccon.my in Kcr\vr thJt is r u'ctul c"mplemcnt to

i.^l,rf.'. -*. Prrr i\i virru( ol $(JIh $r\ ' ct'|nlcniinr qcJ|,'n ro iu'tib or

,'uo.."lir" ..o"on,l. i".q".lity landl to guJd onc's Privilcges bv lit'iting numbers of

or assistance t '

dcPendcnLs" (1995: r47)'In Lrnsdale's amlysis, the popular outragc at ill gotten gains that was so ccDtnl to

Thonpw,n's enrnbation of th; F,nglish dowd is manifested, if it all,;B a diftlrent

register, less concemed with thc sourcc ofwcrlth or its legitnlacv than with \r'hether

itls shared with clicnts and fam;lv nrembcrs. less focuscd on class Per sc' except

D.rhro\ in rim$ or d.rth, rnJ su'.cPrible rr Jn) mlnrcrrr Iu (\Prr\{un in borlr

irr'-L .na ,rL;cot,,ruar ilom' tu in crghr(cnth'rnrun LngLntl' houercr' ir Ktnv't

"ir'. -.-f l.*"", "rr".ial nrequa.tiry had h 3nl' case never bcen unqucstn)ncd' The

$ealthy may hav€ becn g.hd olthe blessing ofGod and the 3nccstors' but the poor

"... "1'".t! challelge.lt thint criticallv about humin resPonsibilitv" (Innsdale

1992:337).l-orraine Daston's "The Moral Economv ofscienc€" (1995) took the discussbn in

yet snother direction For Daston,

r moral cconomy is a scb ol df€ct snurat€d ulfts drat stud 3nd ftncrion in well

a"n".a ."r*i""'irip - "* ,nother In ttls usase' "donl" cdis its tull cmPl€mnr of

, iph,e.nrh.dJ ni;errrnrr (rnruD rr\onJn ' rrr'c'dr''niehrn(pa(lrol '6irJ trnJ

,b:"",-.'....Herrr,,dr,rJ'uhd\"drl:bca'r)odrrJlonrJrinsrr relir''o'r"-.... . .r... r"t'' r Dod'rtior'.i1odi'rihrrrr'rornrcnJl a- rrce' hu rherr^,',.r".-.1 *'.-'1,i, a:'p1.1'r(rr.rn rcFrlJritic' rcg"lrndL Lrtrr r* c'pLicrhlr bur

'1, r i"*",

"'"a'.'"r.n i"

'r., ir a.nu. n .ont- "no''\ ; a r!lJrJed 'v\rcm or em i 'nnrl

forccs, with cquilibrit$ Poinis rnd constnjnt' (1995: 4)

Drston's lrlanl.oncern is to erplain rhc rise ofnormativ€ systens ofscient ic ngo{ and

,,,,inti6.ition !ncc rht sn.nricrrrh ccnrurv r\ -lorm\ u-m"Ei obtigJri"n J'rd 'L'rinti'.-,19o5 llrr.-Mi,ralohlig,:ri,,n. 'lr..trgg.sr\.e\i\r\irrrh(\ii(rrrisr\r(hti'rrro;..""-',"'"or'.trcrusrs.$h,l;-db,rplinc'u\vt'l!e'Llr'rcmoraJolrlrcprnonofthcscientist liom the proceclure, thc reining in ofjrdgrrrent, and the sublnissbn to rules

ibat make iccurate quantincation and rcPlicrble e)qcr;ments Possiblc Both inv('lvc

ii..-"t.r "r.rr"."a"s ofhonor ancl cornmunitics oftrust that are fuodamental to

scierti$c $,ork. "Moral economics of science," Drstoi maintains' "derivc both thcn

lbnns ard thcir emotional fi'rcc llom the culturc tu which thcy arc embedded -g.n,t."tarrly f'""".. f.",.stant introspection' bourgeois puncdlio$ncss" (r995: 24)'' W'il. Dxton\ splendid account ofthc cmergeDcc of€mp;r;caly based scicnce hir

.'u.l' to ....,--.na it, her rse of monl economv narks a major deParture &om

ii"-p*."'" *a s.".c" approaches The most notable divcrgencc is the transforma

,t,t" "rt -.t"f

.."*,-y f.om a prnrciple that explains diss conflict to m elcncnt ofa

n'"..i-."fi" "balancect systern;' wirh "cquilibdum points" that produces "stabilitv

arJinregrity" (rslS, +). In Dastor's work 'n )*irmation drat morxl econonrv has r

rr".u'cri'r"1' ."a ll..tonl* generlogv llaLes an uneasv appearance' imPlicillv

"."""* i;. ."*o.*.

"nd.r tl- san-

"mb'n'r r";th the Marxism ofThompson and

*'i rr'1-p"""i- (and othco inltuenccs on s'off In effcct' Daston attcmpts to

'-igrat "ih. .atcg..y I'om thc rcrlhl ofconflict to tbc re nr ofequilibri(m

62 u,,urc nDrr.M^N

ln 1999 lean-Piere Olivicr dc S,:rdan pubiished a p()vocarivc article on <A MoratEconomy of (lorruption in Aiiicll" The idea thit pnctices conmonly ewcd as

conuption could be the producrs of rd govemed by a monl cconomy ( en if thcessay's tid€ en& with a qucstioo mrrk) constitutes a striking contrasr to DastoD,s usc ofthe term to denote a community ofscicntists governed by norms ofprofcssional htcgri+ Thc distrncc bcrwccr Dxston and Oiivier de Sardan is not, hoivever, as grcar as itmight rppear at tust. According to Olivier de Sardan, the practices ty"i.ally giosscd rsrlcorruption' indu.le many that are pdt ofor at least close to "custosrry social normsaDd attitudcs" $,hiLi are widely recognized as lcgitimate ( I 999 | 27). Hence, for cxamplc,the custom of giving snl]tl gifts to f:mily membcn, iiieDds' chndrn, Deigbbon,coworkc$, ind acquiintances extends seamlesslg he salr, !o custoN omcials, drivcr'slicense €xaminers, and oth€r tunctionaries {4ro promisc to dcliver needcd scnices ord()orments. Not to parri€ipatc in this gili cconomy, which despire emdoying the ldgu3ge of "fivors" has become increasingly rnonetized, is to invirc rcproich, ostracism,arrd shJme, as well is tuturc buearcratic complications. Those \.ido accede to lligh lcvclpositions are expected to profit and to spread the beDedts wirhin th€ir extended iamficsard social network. Soch opportunitics are $pported bv 'lositive social values . . . , sucnas generositv, lrgessc md g.atitude to all those who in the past, whcn I'ou weleunimportant, weak, in need, prrfided belp, e'couragcmcnt rnd sryport" (1999: 43).

"Grruptior";s thus "sinultan€ously a functionat n€cessity (conditionnrg theeffectiveness of aI administrativc rmdertalings), and i norDrativ€ nccessity GheLundation ol r lbrms of so.iability)" (Oli er de Sardan 19991 41). "Ner$,orks ofsol;dariry" itr vilages and:mong the tei:hnocratic elite both encourrge coruption andrlbw iDrpuniq' to flourish (1999: 30 3-t). The "togicJ' of corruption (a tcrm theauthor prel'ers to "cultural" crplanations) xre "normative configunrions" or "shared$,cial codes" that shapc actors' strtrtcgies llnd tiat contribute to matdng cormptpracticcs routinc, b,nal, p€r\'asive, lnd n€arly impossible to uproot. these "codes,"turthermorc, simLrlaneously justif corruption and albw both pafties to any corxpttnDs.rction to deny thititis such. Olivierde Sardar's "mor:ri ccononl, ofcorruption,"for all its brilliant deciphering ofthe processes though vhich corruption is lcgitimiz€d,is like Daston's "moral economy ofscience " esscDtinly ar cquilibriunl bascd rithcrthan a conflict- based th€ory. Moreover, its conscnsus modcl oaculnrre, with its implicitissumpthns lbout unanimiiv of belicL and universality of norms aod behavior, maybe espccir t, probiemitical in the Kenyrn case, whcre, n)r examplc, Eric wainaina's200I hit song "Nchiya Kitu Kidoso" (Country ofBribes) cruscd a political s€nsationand brought its author domcstic ard intcrnational acclaim (Llcey 2001).

MonI cconomy theory has dearlv drifted in the direction of Mauss's (1967)cmphrsis on the obligation to give xnd the obligation to receive aDd rway from rhecon€crn with dass tensions and rebelion that characterize.t its inccprion. ThisMaussian emphisis on stexdy state re.iprocity cln exist alongside a class malysis notFamed in moral economic terms. Philipp€ Bougois and JeffSchonberg's po$,crftrlerhnosraplry Rishteous DopeJiend (2009), for exanpl., locatcs homeless heroinaddicts in San Fraocisco in a US lumpenproletariat conceived in conventiorrl Marxistterms as a socially crcludcd, "rcsidual class" creatcd as a b,vproduct ollate twenriffhcentu.y neol;beral econo'nic pol;cies. The homclcss rddicts' expectations of clitclargesse dc mnrimal, but their horizontrl relations and drug sharing pracdccs :ucpermeated with vebs ol rechrocity and mutual obligarion. In the tromclcss

E, T, THOMTSON AND MOLAl ECONOMIIS 63

eDcampmenLs dope is shded to war.l offwithdnwal s].mptoms, to mxke clains ontuture favors, to buy love, ind for myriad other rersons. The "moral cconomy ofhcroin sharing" (Boursois and Schonbcrg 20091 82) is oery bit as much r survivalmechanism as other moral economics that made claims on superordinate groups orcolo,rialpowe6, blrt its "logics" are cnrircly htcmal to a nrarghalized population andunrccognized outside of tbat sroup.

CoNcLUsroN

'I have no right to patent thc term," E. P. Thompson obscn'ed ii lris cssay on "ThcMoral Economy Reviewed" (1991: 340). Thn somethrt grudging recognition,however, accompanied an insistence on its ccntrality to the corcept ofclass. morality,ud economy and a caution that depoliticizing moral economy rvould rcndcr iranelytically uscless. The prolifcration of moral economy ftamcworks and the "banalization" (Fassnr 2009) or broadcnirs ofthe term nrto an ovcrly capacious, citchillcategory run dre dmger ofrendcring it snlultrncously clevcr ard meiningless. whit,theD.;s to be done)

A first step might be to point out tbat Thompson's use of "moral" reflectcd a

profbund politica' sens;bility and commitmcnt that are sometimcs less appareDt inthosc who subscqueltly app.opriated and translormed his languagc. AlthoughThompson occasiomlty cautn'red historians :rbout imposi'g their own amlrticatcitegories on dreil matcrial, his identifrcation with his subjects wherhcr WillirmMorris, dnctccnth ccntury redicrl laborcrs, or cighleeDth-certlrry "mob" pardcip,mts was so profburd that it is neady impossitrle to disentargle thcir notions ofthemoral univcrsc tiom his. This, irdeed, is onc ofthe criticisms most liequently leveled

at fhompson (Andcrson 1980; Ro$ldo 1990). It reflccts the cenftality ot moralcriteria to h:s politics (as was tbe .asc with Wili:m Moffis's), espccialy in the periodalier 1956 when he "beFn to rcason."

In thc 1980s Thompson tllrew himself into peace movement rctivism with his

chancr€risdc passid d nearly ccascd historicrl rcsearch (Wood 1990: 149). whilehis involverreDt in peace activities hxd strctched back decades, tie announcement inlat€ 1979 drxt somc 160 NATO nuclear tippcd cruise missiles lvould bc sited inBntanr, and the Soviet invasion of Afghd;tan at thc srme time, co'inccd him thatthc cold war posed rn imminent dlr€at to human survival. Hc published a prrnpblct,I'r|test i.n,l S nite,wlich called rttention to rhe absurdities ofnuclear war fightingdoctnne and he ctiifted thc Europe.n Nuclear Disarmanent Appcat (FND), which

contributed to mobilizing nn ;ons of people throughout Europc. ImportmtlS his

anallnis ofthe drngers ofthe momcnt went bq.ond the nucleir ddger to question

thc crtir€, self peryetuating logic of the cold $lr and was 3s cntical of the Soviet

Union rs itwas ofNAfO. Thc peace movement wxs, he hoped, "a.lctente ofPeoples

rather than ol states," which had dre possibility ofincxricably hrking the ceuses ofperce and offieedon, nr both thc East and dre West (ThomPson 19821 50)

Thonpson, howcver, ws Dot only a nDvemcnt theorctician and stratcgist. Hemade speechcs, rppcrred on radio ard televisbn, organizcd workns grouPs. waj

"luggcd around" by polic€ duriog a sit'ddvn strikc nr Oxrbrd, a,rd drove a cr in

support of rhc 40,000 women who slrroundcd the cruisc missile base at GreeDham

64

Commoo (PalDrer r99,{: 142), r site whose very name suggcsts its erstwhile staturs as

the kind ofnonprivate propcrty that he had writtel alrordt in Wbi$ rul l*&tetr.lnthe early to mid r980s,public opnri{,o p()Is r3nked himamoDg th€ mosr admircd rndmost trlrsted public frgurcs ir Enghnd, second onlv to the "fint !i-omcn" of themtion, Marsaret Thitcler, QueeD Elizabeth, ind drc Queen Mothcr (Cx[rom 19941

223tPalmer 1994| 126 r27).'fhompsoo\ pe3c€ movement writings, while not ptrblishcd h acidernic joarllals,

echo hh scholarly work ud the voiccs of his cighteenth and nineteenth centurylaborers ind weavcn in rheir n istencc on the m(,nl lesponsibitity ofthe individuat tohis or her f€ o!1$ rnd to the planct, as weU as the rootedncss of this obiigation in a

we hivc, if mt a duty, then a nc.d, deeply ergraled sidiu our culmre, ro Pds drc Placeon no $o6c dur $c foud it. Thos oftrs $-ho do not cxpcct m afrcrlifc nay scc in tluou only iftnortalilv: ro pass on thc succession oflife, the s(ccsion ofctrhurc. k mryeven be thar wc dc happier when wc ue ensrsed iD nutt€rs ldger thD our own wDrs,Irrser thd oursches. (r982r5r)

'thompson did populirize th€ Dotnm of mofal cconoDry, but othcrs whoapproprirtcd it did so much morc. It is unrcmarkible that conccpts such as thh cvolve.

hdeed, the gencalogy ofmoral economy constinrtes i fine examplc ofwhat Thonpsotrhimsclf warnect against when he invokcd Mar. Bloch's rem3* ibout histori:ns'frurtratbn in the fx€c of '1neD" who fail to alt€r their vocabdaries when their customs

change. The firstjob ofary h;storidr or social scientist is to indicite the sense in {'hichshe or he is enploying a particulir tcrm, a specification that oftcn involves gcncnlog

ical scrutiny ofthc category itself. Andltical concepts, in othcr words, havc histories'and these are rclcvxnt to how we cmploy them. They also havc moral and politicalcontent. Given this, it is a pity thit fhompson's signal Lontribution to theories ofmoral economy has oflatc so olien been obscured.

NOTRS

Ar erso! ( 1980) provides a dcrailed critical discussnrn of ThonPsn's batde widr Alfilsserand r pfiial defense ofthe lattcr. Alderson !|rc trsks a lcy reisonible 'mord" quesrioD:

Why rvere Thonpson3 ilLnsbns ibout sratinism dispelled orly in 1956 and dot bcfore,

especiilly giv€n th. cxistcrce of an ext rsivc itrti Stalinist Mrdst Litchturc by Trotshis6,Mcnsheviks, aDd left so.ial deNocmts.Elsewhcrc, however, he ref.n to Evans P.itchrd\ Ir, Nrt'in a.guing ihrt rh. scnsc oftidc is cnlnrrally aDd historically spe.i6., and drai "clock tidc" add "work di$ipiine"dlvupred preexisting norio$ aDd bccanc focl ofconteniion (Thorpsotr 1967)

Onc nndfesration ofthis distarce aoft ddnopolog-v is thar ThoDPson Paid no.riennon at

r1l to eulier $orks in drc mdropobgicrL .dror rhat hrd g.cat resonaDce mrh lxs Foft, nx)st

notiblr Mau'Js The Gifr 1t967 n9251) dd Poldyi\ Th' G/.4t Tre,lfof$atio" (2O0t

lr944l). r'he nesl.ct ofloldyi is pcrhaps mosr su prising, since lris book cove.s mnclr ofth€sanc tcnl.ry as The Mahifl! qftht Etuglith Wo/hi"! Clds and Whill! ard Exnt*,

^id he hll

hught in dre Wo.kt6' Educatjonrl AssGirrion, !s Tht)mpsod hrer did aI L.edsThe situatbn in $ciology is simild. Ar TriDrberge. rcndks, "howe\tr much rhey nright

admi.€ hid d a social hi*oria. ard a compelling lirctuy srylist, most histoical $.iologistsdo not s& thcoreical rclevan.c in fhoDpson's work. A Perceived hck of th€o..ticJgeneElization dd explicjr ncrbodologl in Thonpsor's soci.l listory has been used to

E, T. THOM}SON AND MORAT ECONOMIE5 65

acco m lbi his neager nnpact on sorntogists, dcspitc lns hflnence mong hi5tori4'(1984:2Ir).

i Twenry yea6 after his "Crowd" cssay, Thonpso! renarked, "My 6les bulge wirh frtdi"]collected on mills and hdk ting dd neal nobs, erc., but sinc€ much ofthis repeats theevidence adduced in my a.ticl., k need rcr now be deploved. BUL a k,t of\ro.k underlay myfindinss, and I nray be lbrsiven if I mr inlParierr with t.ivial obje.tions" (199I: 260).

t The corrast here with tbe analysk iD Hobsbatn\ /rNtt t, R'rdrr (1959) is partiolrrly

' Iresumably rhis colhboration woui.l hrvc iddJessed dnecdy $nr€ ofdre "serial" hnroriaDJcortro\r6i.1 clairN about iixd p.iccs and fie c.!ss of th€ F.cn.h Revolution, a debate

dlat is otrdined in Edelman 12005).| "Maybe dre rrouble lis with tbt $ord 'nora1,"'Tbomp$n dtclarcd in his l99l retrospe.

tilc cs.y on nonl economy. "'Moral'is x sigMl which b.ings on i rL.h ofplemical bl{hdto tbe acadcmic hcrd- Nofiing has nDd. hy .ritics aDgrier than the notioD dur a food

rioter misht hale bc.n more 'nora| than r discipLc ofDr Adan Smifi" (I99t: 27r).

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E t IIJONITSON AND ll()RAL TjCONOMIFS 65

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