While running those errands I mentioned to the driver that I would also need a ride to the airport at some later time. He said he would be glad to provide it. When we got back to the hotel I specified the time when he was to pick me up for the airport and wanted to pay him for the day. He replied that I pay him for the whole service at the airport. This surprised me because he had no guarantee that I would not disappear without paying him for the service he had already rendered, which was a non-trivial amount even for me. But then I realized that it was a personal trust culture rather than formal contract culture.
On Sat, Jul 27, 2013 at 10:05 AM, Wojtek S <wsoko52 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Doug: "Not sure how this relates to a subordinated debenture."
>
> [WS:] Anarchists are neoliberals without money ;), and for these guys any
> form of social obligation borders on slavery.
>
> BTW, I remember the culture of interlocking debts being well and alive in
> the old country when I lived there. People were constantly borrowing from
> one another, doing each other favors, paying bribes or exchanging tokens of
> gratitude (typically flowers or chocolate for women, alcohol for men. Even
> if you paid for services you would expect and get a 'special deal" if you
> knew the provider and thus "owed him." The ability to accumulate this
> interlocking debt was very important socially and economically. people who
> were unable or unwilling to engage in it usually did not get very far and
> were considered "misfits" or "dumbwits" no matter how intelligent they
> were. There was even a joke that the most severe form of punishment was
> not death penalty but the forfeiture of all social connections for life.
>
> What is more, not specifying how much exactly was being owed was an
> important aspect of the game. I recall my ex going back there to arrange
> various funeral services when her father passed away, and when she insisted
> on writing service contracts, people got really pissed at her that she did
> not trust them. Her point, however, was that she was going back to the US
> in a few days and did not need any favors or relations, but she wanted to
> make sure that everything was done as agreed.
>
> This was very pervasive in Eastern Europe even during the Communist times.
> However, it was considered to be backward and pre-modern and if it was
> written about at all, it was usually in negative terms, as something that
> needed to be eradicated if the country were to become "truly modern."
> There was some economic literature trying to estimate how much loss it
> produced to the national economy, and the only English language
> anthropological study that I am familiar with is an edited volume by Janine
> Wedel "Unplanned society."
>
> My own feelings toward this culture of interlocking debt was a mixed bag.
> On the one hand, I detested it because it was often used as an excuse for
> extortion rackets or bribery for something that was supposed to be a
> "public service" -e.g. medical care or education. On the other hand, it
> enormously facilitated informal resolution of conflicting interests or
> otherwise complicated affairs without recourse to formal procedures,
> litigation, courts etc. and thus make life much easier for many people.
>
> Generally speaking this culture of interlocking debts served rather well
> people with good social skills and not so well those without such skills.
> Case in point. My ex's mom, whose formal education ended in high school
> but was very good at playing favors and building interlocking informal
> debts, managed to be the head of the personnel department, was well
> respected in her workplace and community, and could get anything she wanted
> no matter how "impossible." My dad, otoh, who had a college degree, but
> was a rather self-righteous character, was often skipped for promotions,
> and even when he eventually advanced to senior management he still had
> problems obtaining what he wanted.
>
>
>
> --
> Wojtek
>
> "An anarchist is a neoliberal without money."
>
-- Wojtek
"An anarchist is a neoliberal without money."