The Devil And Commodity Fetishism In South America

Taussig's perspective for interpretation of these societies is unashamedly Marxist. His aim is to interpret the effects of the disruption these societies experienced from what he calls, the capitalist exploitation of market based oppression, dating from the Spanish conquest to the present day. He tries to achieve this by analysing the subsequent changes in their folk beliefs. Comparing pre-conquest (use value market) beliefs, rites, magic, with those of the post-conquest (commodity driven market) periods of history.

Taussig emphasises that in order to see the situation these societies find themselves in clearly we must look at them through precapitalist eyes. Stressing the importance of a self effacing critique of the capitalist world view, (one that the western reader has probably reified) is critical to comprehending the task he has undertaken.

In the much same way the the tin miners fetishised their spirits of the mountains, who were in their minds the rightful owners of the minerals inside the mines. Before the exploitation of miners by the Spanish and then the state, the mountain spirits never had a human form. The new fetishised spirit or tio was a man made figurine, usually with a European appearance. He is a devil, evil by nature. As the true owner of the mine the tio had to be appeased. The tios are ugly with an enlarged penis. The miners perform sacrificial rites to the tios to ensure production in the mines.

of man's creative imagination enthralls the creator. Man becomes the

This points out the dilemma that precapitalist societies face when confronting the shift to a market driven economy. The social cohesion is being undermined by a system that puts the "bottom line"in front of human concerns. As Marx said production becomes the aim of man.

The situations imposed on the peasants led them to pervert or fetishise some of their folk rituals, which had previously only been used for the "alleviation of misfortune and for protection".(p.97) Small figurines called munecos, used by Columbian blacks previously only for the uses described above, were now employed to illicit productive gain. This gain had no use value in the traditional sense it was only used to ensure productivity of the plantation field workers, and the munecos took on the role of a devil or malevolent spirit. This also is a result of the alienation the blacks experienced.

Some topics in this essay:
South America, Peru Bolivia, Implying Weber's, Sage London, Caucau Columbia, Quoting Weber, Marx It's, South Americans, Durkheim Vico, South American, capitalist system, commodity driven, south america, driven economy, modes production, commodity fetishism, folk beliefs, weber's view, commodities produced, driven market, commodity driven economy, fetishism south america, commodity driven market, commodity fetishism south, aim production production,