Entrepreneurs and Parasites
The Struggle for Indigenous Capitalism in Zaïre

Originally published in 1987, this book demonstrates the emergence of an indigenous bourgeoisie of local capitalists without political position in Zaire.

Janet MacGaffey (Author)

9781107634909, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 8 May 2014

256 pages
23 x 15.3 x 1.4 cm, 0.45 kg

Originally published in 1987, this book used data from Kisangani, Upper Zaire and North Kivu to demonstrate the emergence of an indigenous bourgeoisie of local capitalists without political position. These entrepreneurs invested in productive enterprise for the local market, managed and expanded their business in rational capitalist fashion, and were reproducing themselves as a class. The text discusses how the spiralling economic crisis in Zaire resulted in a severe decline in the administrative capacity of the state, but also opened up opportunities for social mobility. Reliance on anthropological methods of intensive fieldwork, personal contacts and collection of case histories created the basis for this study, forming an ethnography of local class formation and struggle.

List of tables
List of illustrations, maps and figures
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Introduction
1. Indigenous capitalism in peripheral economies: some theoretical considerations
2. The political and economic context: from colonial oppression to the fend for yourself present
3. Business and class in Kisangani
4. Opportunities for capital accumulation: the emergence of an indigenous bourgeoisie
5. Opportunities for capital accumulation: fending for oneself in the second economy
6. Long-distance trade, smuggling and the new commercial class: the Nande of North Kivu
7. Gender and class formation: businesswomen in Kisangani
8. State, class and power: the effect of administrative decline on class formation
Conclusion
Appendix. Population figures
Notes
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Microeconomics [KCC]