Thursday, February 21, 2019
6.2 Occult Economies (2)
After reading this article, reflect on the following statement: "I am saying we should contextualize Madoff as an effect of finance capital, rather than a bad apple, just as I am trying to suggest that el millionario's scheme "worked" by mixing development culture with "traditional" beliefs in ways that morphed human connections ("social capital") into money. In so doing I hope to transform the objects of the ugly stereotype of the gullible Maya (or the greedy Jew) into rational moral actors." (p. 216)
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After reading the article and reflecting on the statement quoted, I feel that the article does not paint the Mayan people as either greedy, or gullible. Instead, I think that the article portrays the Mayan people as just as rational, and no more greedy as anyone else. This can be seen in 'El Millionario' scheme, which played on various sections of the Mayan faith and traditions. What 'El Millionario' did with his scheme may in a way be no more different than any other scheme that one may see on the United States, or in Europe.
ReplyDeleteEl Millonario's organization took advantage of the culture of the Mayans by utilizing the social expectations of the Mayan people. The people who talked door to door were leaders known and esteemed by locals who would never think to not trust them, and the targeted individuals were heavily connected with religion and local authority. The religious aspect is most important, as they prioritize helping others any way they can–including with money and resources–as well as having the mindset of giving to receive something in the future (sort of like karma; basic human reciprocation). They were deceived into thinking that they were helping others to get something of value back to them in the future, and were convinced by people they trusted just to be immensely let down.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the given quote and after reading, I think that the harsh stereotype of the gullible Mayan is definitely transformed through this article showing the actual rationality behind Mayans actions during the El Millionario scheme. El Millionario's fake organization "intended" to help the needy, manipulated the Mayan's social dynamics and hope for quick success to gain money. The Mayan had long since struggled, they were amidst a postwar development boom, with this there was a stronger belief in the possibility that you can get rich without struggle and sacrifice when word arose about El Millionario's organization. Furthermore, there was seemingly credibility behind El Millionario, at first those who invested did get a return and with more people investing, there was a great social pressure applied on everyone else to invest. Thus, the Mayan's are not gullible, there were external factors the increased the enchantment behind the situation, which can occur anywhere. Even in the U.S. there are educated people who have invested money into worthless (Ponzi) schemes. Even though El Millionario's scheme "worked" by manipulating traditional beliefs of people to produce money,it's only temporary and bound to crash eventually. The entirety of it all is also extremely unethical and causes major destruction to the communities that participate.
ReplyDeleteThis quote sums up so much of this article, as well as the greater problem with these kind of schemes. El Millionario made sense in the context of the time and through the eyes of the Maya. The scheme played on the faith and the traditions of the local people and made them an offer they would feel foolish not taking. The social pressure of the community also played a role, and proved the power of social ties and community structure.
ReplyDeleteBy taking away the context of all of those factors, it is easy to judge the Maya for their actions and to ridicule them for their lack of caution and worldly knowledge. What I think is so telling about the stereotyping of people who fall victim to these schemes is that it's just another way of "othering". People all around the world in all classes and races fall for ponzi schemes, yet only a few groups get lambasted like the Mayans, because more dominant groups believe it could never happen to them.
The scheme run by El Millionario is easy to identify as fraudulent from afar, yet this article, specifically reinforced by this quote, attests that the Mayans were simply taken advantage of in a very conniving fashion. The Mayans can hardly be blamed for trusting those who presented the scheme, since there was originally a fair sense of credibility. El Millionario's scheme was based in the exploitation of traditionally held beliefs and practices, making an investment seem like the rational move. As the author put it, the scheme thrived off of making the "strange familiar, and the familiar strange."
ReplyDeleteAs we discussed during class last week the two should be held to the same measure of susceptibility. Whether it be Madoff’s scheme or that of el’ Millionaro’s method, they both have the same level of trust giving from the collective persons that fell prey to their schemes. I believe that this statement holds true in that both were effects of vulnerable populations being taken advantage of. One being from the more recognizable financial sector of Wall Street, does in no way make it less obvious than that of an individual using social capital does to the Mayan. Both are different in their own rights but at the core of the collective interests, they are mearly one in the same. Six of one, is half a dozen of another.
ReplyDeleteI think this quote is referencing how often in pyramid schemes the people that are demonized are the ones that fall for it, rather than the people who successfully market it instead. Especially with the case of the Maya and El Millionario, it was not stupidity or lack of understanding that caused the scheme to work. Instead, it was a series of mirages embedded with both cultural and social aspects that legitimized the pyramid scheme. In situations like these it is not due to absence of intelligence that someone falls for something, but more on how good the people structuring the scheme at convincing and worming their way into the community. In the Mayan’s case - they’re a suppressed group in South America in general, and anything that looks on the surface to be helping the community and their stance as a minority group would make sense to invest in: it’s no different than someone buying a house and taking out loans because it seems cheap, only for it to bite them later when they realize they can’t afford to pay it off.
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