The Devil And Commodity Fetishism In South America

13 Pages 3233 Words

et symbols and collective representations of societies only serves to reify the structure of that society. Could it be that he is trying to downplay the significance the role religous aspects, that are ubiquitous in the societies the book covers, play in shaping the use value systems that are prevalent pre Spanish conquest in an attempt to reinforce his Marxist doctrine that man's basic needs and the modes of production needed to supply them, form the fundamental base of societal structure, while failing to explore the significance the beliefs of the peasants play in shaping their reciprocal, use value economies?


He goes on to quote Giambattista Vico in his rejection of positivism which influenced Durkheim. Vico said that because men invented society they can know it and that ..."it's principles are, therefore, to be found within the modification of our own human mind."(p.103) Taussig states that the "positivist view" of science keeps us from understanding the exploitave nature of capitalism. Quoting Weber also as saying this "formal...