Culture and economy: A brief introduction

The spectrum of debate ranges from the formalist-substantivist dispute in economic anthropology to the Frankfurt School's critique of the 'cultural industry', to the fin de siecle 'cultural turn' in practically every humanities and social sciences discipline. The contributors investigated the culture/economy nexus within a specifically European context primarily from three angles. Anthropologists and economic historians working with an ethnological perspective have long argued that the economy is culturally contingent. Visions of a 'society of shareholders' clash with other ideals of society, including those of the contemporary radical critics of global capitalism, but also the concept, strongly developed in Sweden, of a socially responsible economy. Good examples of how markets are supposed to function are found in regular marketing events, such as trade fairs, and in more regular activities, such as the daily trading at the stock exchange. Culture contact of a different kind is the subject of Nogues' discussion of tourism-related policies in Andalusia.