The myth of the credit for the poor: the myth-credit. Analysis of the production of a ‘new’ way to eradicate poverty
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31048/1852.4826.v4.n1.5483Keywords:
microcredit, poverty, mith, hegemony, Grameen BankAbstract
The objective of this article is to analyze how a specific type of microcredits, those inspired in the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, were internationally legitimized as a ‘vanguard’ in the fight against poverty. The Grameen microcredits are considered as a vehicle for the “economic progress” of the poor people, as well as a guarantee for their rights. In this article we analyze the circulation of stories about the origin of microcredits, as well as their worldwide expansion. Our starting point will be the consideration of these stories in terms of a “myth” as Leach (1976) understands this concept. We will also show that these stories present similar characteristics to those that Geertz (1994) attributes to the “common sense”, concluding that we are dealing with a conflictive process of production and imposition of meanings that result in the legitimation of microcredit as the “ultimate solution to poverty”.Downloads
References
Archetti, E. 1992. El mundo social y simbólico del cuy. CEPALES, Quito.
Esteva, G. 2000. Desarrollo. En Viola, A. (comp.) Antropología del Desarrollo. Teorías y estudios etnográficos en América Latina. Cap. 1. pp. 67-102. Paidos. Barcelona
Geertz, C. 1994. El sentido común como sistema cultural. En Geertz, C. Conocimiento Local. Cap. 4, pp. 93-116. Paidós, Barcelona
Hartmann, B., Boyce, J. 1998. A quiet violence. View from a Bangladesh village. Zed Books, London.
Karim, L. 2008. Demystifying micro-credit. The Grameen Bank, NGOs, and Neoliberalism in Bangladesh. En: Cultural Dynamics 20(1):5-29
Koberwein, A., S. Doudtchitzky. 2007. ¿Transmitir o Producir conocimientos? Un análisis comparativo de la implementación de una política social a nivel local. Cuadernos de Antropología Social 25:.133-150
Koberwein, A. 2008 La participación del beneficiario en la implementación de políticas sociales. ¿Derecho u obligación?. Etnografía del microcrédito como programa social. Tesis de maestría en Antropología Social, IDES/IDAES-UNSAM.
Koberwein, A. 2009. Deudores, acreedores y tres obligaciones: recibir, devolver y participar. Análisis de las relaciones entre prestadores y prestatarios en una política social de microcréditos. En: Heredia, Beatriz y Ana Rosato (comp.) Política, instituciones y gobierno: abordajes y perspectivas antropológicas sobre el hacer Política. pp. 285-300. Antropofagia, Buenos Aires
Leach, E. 1976. Sistemas políticos de la Alta Birmania. Estudio sobre la estructura social Kachin. Barcelona, Anagrama.
Morduch, J. 1999. The Microfinance Promise. Journal of Economic Literature. Vol XXXVII pp. 1569-1614.
Nissanke, M. 2002. Donors Support for microcredit as Social Enerprise. A critical Reappraisal. Discussion Paper No. 2002/17, World Institute for Development Economics Research, United Nations University.
Santos, C. 2007. Análise de impactos socioeconômicos do microcrédito: dificultades metodológicas e analíticas. En RAP Rio de Janeiro 41(1):147-60.
Stiglitz, J. 2005. El monitoreo entre pares y los mercados de crédito. En Federico Sabate, A, S. Ozomek y R. Muñoz (Comp.) Finanzas y Economía Social. Modalidades en el manejo de los recursos solidarios. Editorial Altamira, Col.de Lecturas sobre Economía Social. Buenos Aires.
Viola, A. 2000. Antropología del Desarrollo. Teorías y estudios etnográficos en América Latina. Barcelona. Paidos.
Williams, R. 2000. Marxismo y Literatura. Península, Barcelona.
Wright, S. 1998. The politicization of culture. En: Anthropology Today 14(1):7
Yunus, M. 2006. El Banquero de los pobres. Los microcréditos y la batalla contra la pobreza en el mundo. Paidós, Buenos Aires.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Those authors who have publications with this Journalaccept the following terms:
a. Authors will retain their copyrights and guarantee the journal the right of first publication of their work, which will be simultaneously subject to the Creative Commons Attribution License (Licencia de reconocimiento de Creative Commons) that allows third parties to share the work as long as its author and his first publication in this journal.
b. Authors may adopt other non-exclusive licensing agreements for the distribution of the version of the published work (eg, deposit it in an institutional electronic file or publish it in a monographic volume) provided that the initial publication in this journal is indicated.
c. Authors are allowed and recommended to disseminate their work on the Internet (eg in institutional telematic archives or on their website) before and during the submission process, which can lead to interesting exchanges and increase citations of the published work. (See The Effect of Open Access - El efecto del acceso abierto)
How to Cite
