Tahiti

Polynesian Peasants and Proletarians

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Anthropology
Cover of the book Tahiti by Ben R. Finney, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Ben R. Finney ISBN: 9781351487146
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: July 12, 2017
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Ben R. Finney
ISBN: 9781351487146
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: July 12, 2017
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

The Polynesian island of Tahiti is in the imagination an island paradise, an idyllic world inhabited by noble savages, carefree and uncomplicated. Tahiti separates myth from reality. Finney describes and analyzes the forces of change that have confronted Tahiti and its inhabitants in the modern world. As the author notes in the introduction, "Neither isolation in the South Pacific, nor the romantic aura invested in them by philosophers and escapists of the West, has saved Tahitians from intense involvement in the twin processes of industrialization and urbanization."

This study of Tahitian life concentrates upon two different communities. One is a peasant community moving from subsistence farming to an increased reliance upon the production of cash crops. The other is a proletarian community whose members were at the time abandoning farming and fishing in favor of wage labor. Finney compares the two contemporaneous communities, enabling him to define different but interrelated variables of the economic and social change. These are responsible for Tahiti's evolution from a subsistence oriented peasant life to a life based increasingly on cash crops and wage labor.

What happens to family life, work patterns, land use, and other traditional modes of social organization when a small, underdeveloped society is confronted with economic forces largely beyond its control? In dealing with this question as it applies to Tahiti, Finney makes an important contribution to our understanding of how modernization affects a society once thought to be outside the boundaries of the modern world. A major study in English of the socio-economic forces at work in Tahiti, this book provides the reader with both an understanding of the changing nature of Tahitian life, and the reactions of Tahitians to such changes.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The Polynesian island of Tahiti is in the imagination an island paradise, an idyllic world inhabited by noble savages, carefree and uncomplicated. Tahiti separates myth from reality. Finney describes and analyzes the forces of change that have confronted Tahiti and its inhabitants in the modern world. As the author notes in the introduction, "Neither isolation in the South Pacific, nor the romantic aura invested in them by philosophers and escapists of the West, has saved Tahitians from intense involvement in the twin processes of industrialization and urbanization."

This study of Tahitian life concentrates upon two different communities. One is a peasant community moving from subsistence farming to an increased reliance upon the production of cash crops. The other is a proletarian community whose members were at the time abandoning farming and fishing in favor of wage labor. Finney compares the two contemporaneous communities, enabling him to define different but interrelated variables of the economic and social change. These are responsible for Tahiti's evolution from a subsistence oriented peasant life to a life based increasingly on cash crops and wage labor.

What happens to family life, work patterns, land use, and other traditional modes of social organization when a small, underdeveloped society is confronted with economic forces largely beyond its control? In dealing with this question as it applies to Tahiti, Finney makes an important contribution to our understanding of how modernization affects a society once thought to be outside the boundaries of the modern world. A major study in English of the socio-economic forces at work in Tahiti, this book provides the reader with both an understanding of the changing nature of Tahitian life, and the reactions of Tahitians to such changes.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Central Banking, Asset Prices and Financial Fragility by Ben R. Finney
Cover of the book Passages from the Diary of Cb by Ben R. Finney
Cover of the book S. J. Perelman by Ben R. Finney
Cover of the book Ethics in Politics by Ben R. Finney
Cover of the book The Leasing of Federal Lands for Fossil Fuels Production by Ben R. Finney
Cover of the book Beyond the Letter (Routledge Revivals) by Ben R. Finney
Cover of the book Law after Ground Zero by Ben R. Finney
Cover of the book Fake, Fact, and Fantasy by Ben R. Finney
Cover of the book Crusade and Conversion on the Baltic Frontier 1150–1500 by Ben R. Finney
Cover of the book Teacher Education Policy and Practice in Europe by Ben R. Finney
Cover of the book Business in Emerging Latin America by Ben R. Finney
Cover of the book Atomic Theories by Ben R. Finney
Cover of the book Energy and Environment in Architecture by Ben R. Finney
Cover of the book Memoirs of the Late Captain Hugh Crow of Liverpool by Ben R. Finney
Cover of the book Reading Renaissance Ethics by Ben R. Finney
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy