ABSTRACT

This article explores why people in Namibia go into debt to eat. Until recently, food sharing practices were maintained by social relationships in which everyone owed everyone else. This made sense, as needs would rotate evenly. However, in recent decades, and largely through state employment and social grants, the political economy has changed. Now, needs are distributed unequally. This article explores how the movement of resources through time and space is altered via the mechanism of credit/debt. The haves have become merchants and refer the have-nots to credit books in their recently opened village stores. This has two effects: for one, today the entire community owes only a very small number of people. Food transfers no longer crosscut groups but manifest them. Secondly, credits do not fully replace existing social relationships and enable sharing in other situations, mostly around meals, which also suggests continuity in shifting forms.

摘要

本文探讨了为什么纳米比亚人负债累累。直到最近，食物分享的做法都是通过每个人都欠其他人的社会关系来维持的。这是有道理的，因为需求会均匀轮换。然而，近几十年来，主要通过国家就业和社会补助，政治经济发生了变化。现在，需求分配不均。本文探讨了如何通过信用/债务机制改变资源在时间和空间中的移动。富人已成为商人，并在他们最近开设的乡村商店中向穷人推荐信用簿。这有两个作用：一是今天整个社会只欠极少数人。粮食转移不再是横切群体，而是体现它们。第二，