Frail hope and new frontiers

This guest editorial takes as its starting point the 2021 guest editorial in ANTHROPOLOGY TODAY on the anthropology of blockchain written by Kosmarski and Gordiychuk, in which they discussed the possibilities of blockchain in terms of a ‘frail hope of novel, weird, grassroots, decentralized forms of social life’. They also argued that blockchain brought us to ‘new frontiers’ in politics, economics, capital, votes and subjective feelings. Two years later, in this 2023 guest editorial, the authors take stock of where blockchain technology stands concerning these ‘frail hopes’ and ‘new frontiers’. They distinguish between three articulations of blockchain imaginaries: blockchain-as-discourse, blockchain-as-sociotechnical assemblage and blockchain-as-spectacle. Then, they explore what blockchain means for capital, and whether we are headed towards mass adoption of blockchain technology, concluding that, for now, they see primarily institutional adoption. The authors also discern parallel institutional structures, with traditional finance on one side and blockchain-enabled crypto finance on the other, and they examine the regulated future of crypto assets.     

Towards decentralized anthropological scholarship: Some ethical considerations

This article outlines the future of decentralized blockchain scholarship and some ethical questions we must consider in its wake. What is the role of research participants in a decentralized publishing ecosystem? And how do we move towards more just values and practices in intellectual creation and dissemination?     

Blockchain in the EU: Transforming imaginaries and the social making of fnancial regulation

Based on local and online ethnographic research, this article explores how blockchain projects and financial supervisors navigate transforming technological dispositions and interact in constructing regulatory frameworks. While there is a straightforward replacement of revolutionary blockchain narratives with regulatory compliance ones, there is also degree of codependency between regulators and market actors in regulatory negotiation.     

Front and Back Covers,Volume 39, Number 4. August 2023

Front and back cover caption, volume 39 issue 4 CBDC'S BOTANICAL IMAGERY In the ever-evolving landscape of global finance, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has cultivated a botanical metaphor to illustrate the concept of central bank digital currency (CBDC). In this issue, Swartz & Westermeier explore this metaphor (illustrated here by Matthew Kurina), presenting a fascinating anthropological perspective on the intersection of technology, economy and imagination. The BIS's metaphorical ‘money tree’ positions the central bank as the sturdy trunk, providing stability and support to the financial ecosystem. The branches, representing various financial institutions, extend from this trunk, while the leaves, symbolizing the diverse forms of money, flourish at the periphery. This metaphor not only encapsulates the hierarchical structure of the financial system but also naturalizes the concept of CBDC, subtly implying its inevitability and organic integration into the existing monetary ecosystem. The BIS uses the ‘money flower’, another botanical metaphor, to classify the past, present and future forms of money. The petals of this flower represent different characteristics of money, such as whether it is digital or physical, centralized or decentralized. This metaphorical taxonomy provides a framework for understanding the evolution of money and the potential role of CBDCs in the future financial landscape. However, while visually appealing and conceptually insightful, these botanical metaphors also raise anthropological questions. They mask the sociopolitical implications of CBDCs, presenting them as natural phenomena rather than human-made constructs. This portrayal glosses over the potential power dynamics, control mechanisms and geopolitical tensions inherent in adopting CBDCs. As we stand at the precipice of a new era in digital currency, these metaphors serve as a reminder of the need for critical engagement with the narratives that shape our understanding of complex financial technologies. The ‘money tree’ and ‘money flower’ are not just symbols of financial evolution, but also tools of persuasion, framing our perception of the future of money. CULTURAL EVOLUTION IN THE AGE OF NFTs The Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), an intriguing collection of algorithmically generated cartoon ape NFTs etched into the Ethereum blockchain, has not only sparked a cultural phenomenon but also inspired the first ever NFT-themed restaurant, Bored & Hungry, in Long Beach, California, USA. Why apes? A BAYC founder suggests it is a response to the existential ennui that follows the attainment of vast wealth through crypto investments. ‘Once you've achieved unimaginable wealth, what's next? You join a swamp club with a bunch of apes and embrace the unusual’. Or, you could always enjoy a burger. Yet, these seemingly whimsical endeavours are more than just a pastime for the crypto rich. NFTs signify a profound shift in the political discourse surrounding blockchain technology. They challenge the financialization of blockchain, aligning with a contemporary wave of anti-finance far-right populism and potentially offering an alternative to the prevailing capitalist democratic order. In this issue, Bill Maurer delves into the uneasy relationship between the concept of non-fungibility and anthropological theories of embedded or social economies. This tension, he suggests, could pave the way for a post-neoliberal future, one that is not rooted in finance but in regenerative models for future social worlds. From an anthropological perspective, the rise of NFTs and blockchain technology represents a fascinating evolution of societal norms and values. It challenges our traditional understanding of ownership, value and community, creating a new form of ‘digital tribalism’ where belonging is tied to shared digital assets. Furthermore, the boredom expressed by the crypto wealthy and their subsequent retreat into a virtual ‘swamp club’ can be seen as a form of digital ‘potlatch’, a ceremonial feast of the Kwakiutl, where status is asserted not through wealth accumulation, but through its ostentatious disposal. As blockchain technology continues infiltrating all aspects of life, anthropology grapples to understand its impact. The cultural shift it brings is as significant as it is complex, and its full implications are yet to be unravelled.     

Some pig! Exchanging NFTs for the perspective of regeneration

There are a thousand more silly ideas for every utopian blockchain project to heal the planet, foster financial justice, transform cultural production or democratize practically anything and everything. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are one of them. The funny thing is that the more you pick at them, the more they harmonize with certain longstanding anthropological arguments. Non-fungibility lurks in the anthropological imagination of non-capitalist economies. This article uses the common law of fungibility to explore the elevation of the very idea of non-fungibility presumed in many NFTs. This idea might have more in common with saints’ incorruptible flesh or the Crown Jewels than the standard fictions of capitalist finance. They cut social ties by insisting on their singularity and immutability. In doing so, they crowd out other blockchain conversations about regeneration and ways to reckon the debts we owe any number of possible futures.     

Ionospheric modification by high power radio waves

Powerful, high frequency (HF) radio waves can be used to temporarily modify the ionosphere. These controlled, active experiments have proven useful both for studies of the natural upper atmosphere through observations of ionospheric response to HF induced perturbations, and for basic physics investigations exploiting the ionosphere as a large, natural plasma laboratory-without-walls. This experimental diversity has attracted the attention and participation of physicists from a wide range of disciplines. As a result, HF ionospheric modification research continues to be strongly motivated by its many applications in the fields of aeronomy, space physics, plasma physics, and telecommunications science.     

Electoral politics in the Australian Journal of Political Science: A review

Australia’s constant experimentation with electoral system design, and its effects on voter behaviour, have been consistent themes in the Australian Journal of Political Science and its predecessor, Politics, for half a century. This article examines this research in the context of three areas: electoral institutions; election campaigns; and voter behaviour. Three distinct stages in the research are identified, starting with basic fact-gathering, then progressing to the application of rigorous methods and evidence to real-world questions. In the third stage, scholarly attention has been devoted to placing Australia within a comparative framework. An underlying theme in the research is Australian exceptionalism in electoral politics.     

从石城客家姓氏志的编纂看地方志事业发展存在的问题

江西省石城县客家姓氏志编纂实践中存在定名之争、体例不清、不注重使用原始资料等问题,要以《地方志工作条例》实施为契机,在一些基本概念和范畴上取得共识,以促进地方志学科建设;地方志因其独特体例,可以成为记载地方某一特定事物全景的合适文本;应当建立与各类地方志实际相适应的编纂体制,以促进地方志事业的全面繁荣;要尽量促进入志资料的原始化,以提升地方志的价值和地位;要加强对专业志编纂的指导,以避免走不必要的弯路。     

地理学的发展:模式、动力与趋势

地理学以地理环境、人类需要或社会发展、科学技术、哲学思想和科学共同体以及大地理学家的综合作用为动力系统,形成了兼具有归纳主义的科学发展模式、证伪主义的科学发展模式和库恩的科学发展模式等诸多特点的发展模式。21世纪的地理学将通过"人地关系地域系统的协调共生"这一基本概念的确立与运用而更好地体现地理学的"综合性",具有与相邻科学交叉更加深入、学科内部的发展更加合理、微观机制进一步深入、应用领域不断拓宽和方法不断更新以及思想方法论得到特别重视等发展趋势。     

论改革开放以来法价值取向的历史流变与发展趋势

法价值是法学的基本命题,也是社会关注的焦点。中国自改革开放以来法价值取向随着时代的变化而有所侧重。我们可以认为：自党的十一届三中全会以来,中国法价值取向经历了从秩序到效率、法治与人权的历史流变,但其发展趋势必然朝着公平正义的方向发展。     

故宫灵沼轩风振响应分析

故宫灵沼轩是一座砌体结构与钢结构组合而成的文物建筑。为有效对其保护,采用数值模拟方法,研究了风振作用下结构的动力响应。基于灵沼轩结构现状,建立了有限元模型。通过模态分析,获得了灵沼轩的基频和主振型;通过对结构施加y向脉动风荷载,研究了重现期为50年时结构的风振特性,评价了结构在风荷载作用下的安全现状。结果表明:灵沼轩结构基频为f=5.75Hz,在x及y向的主振型以局部振动为主;脉动风压作用下,结构保持稳定振动状态,但顶部位置加速度峰值偏大。另风压作用下,砌体结构部分位置的抗拉强度不足,应在日常维护中予以重视;钢结构部分由于材料强度大,因而不会出现强度破坏。     

新时代边疆治理现代化研究:内涵、价值与路向

边疆治理现代化,不仅构成了国家治理这一循环链条赖以持续运转的物质性基石,也是国家治理之治理追求在价值层面得以存立的要素补充。实现边疆治理的逻辑更新,将边疆由一“边缘性”话语进位为一个蕴含生机与创造活力的前沿领域,使其实现“本体性”价值的复归与实践路径的“整体性”嵌合,是新时代边疆治理现代化的应有之义。推进边疆治理现代化,要坚持正确的政治导向,深化问题导向意识,注重梳理“知识性”内容,在“以人民为中心”的价值指引下持续夯实基础性资源。     

Information Provision and Individual Behavior: A Case Study of Voting at an English General Election

A basic premise of much work in behavioral geography is that spatial variations in decision making reflect the geography of information availability. Within this context, more attention has been paid to the behavior than to the provision of information. In this paper, both the supply of relevant information and its impact are modeled and analyzed, using the 1983 general election in England as a case study. Variations in campaign spending on information are identified, related to the party's standing in a constituency, and these variations are shown to have been related to the electoral outcome.     

人本主义与理性主义的融合--阿米巴经营、理念哲学与京瓷企业文化特征

自20世纪80年代起,企业文化作为现代企业管理理论和管理方法的重要内容,引起了企业界、学术界的广泛关注和研究。由于这一现象是以“日本何以超过美国”这一问题为背景的,所以,日本企业文化的“人本主义”特征和美国企业文化的“理性主义”特征的比较,成为讨论的重点。本文通过对名列世界500强企业之一的日本京瓷公司的考察,批评了这种二元对立的讨论思路的简单化,指出“人本主义”与“理性主义”的融和,才是京瓷持续成功的根本原因所在,是京瓷企业文化的本质特征．     

论中国东北地缘关系及因应对策

本文以历史、现状、未来的视角对中国东北及东北亚地区地缘关系的发展变化进行了总结和趋势判断。在此基础上,提出了因应对策,即:在地缘政治方面与俄罗斯合作,防御日美联合及其构建地区性防御体系;在地缘经济方面与日韩合作,促进东北亚经济的共同发展;在具体策略方面,推进对国内和对国外两个开放,以开放促开发,促进区际联系和国际合作,用地缘经济促进地缘政治的良性发展,为东北区快速发展营造良好的外部条件。     

六朝文化研究续议

熟悉基本文献资料,利用文物考古资料,把握相关理论与学说,并且妥善处理致知与致用的关系,是拓宽加深六朝文化的基础研究与应用研究中值得重视的几个方面。     

论党的三代领导集体关于经受执政地位考验的重要思想

党必须经受执政地位的考验 ,是我们党三代领导集体一贯坚持和强调的重要思想。毛泽东估计了在民主革命胜利以后国内外阶级斗争的新形势 ,及时警告资产阶级的“糖衣炮弹”将成为对无产阶级、对已经取得执政地位的中国共产党的主要危险 ;建国后 ,毛泽东继续坚持和发展了经受执政地位考验的思想。建国初期 ,邓小平作为第一代领导集体的重要成员着重指出了党在执政地位取得以后可能产生的一些危险倾向 ,强调注意和重视执政党的特点 ,在执政全过程中都要坚持为人民服务的正确态度 ,要十分珍惜来之不易的执政党地位 ;改革开放时期 ,邓小平成为第二代领导集体的核心 ,对我党几十年执政经验教训进行了总结 ,特别是针对“文化大革命”和结合改革开放时期的新形势、新特点进行了深刻思考 ,从而对党如何在新的历史条件下经受住执政地位的考验提出了许多新的思想。党的第三代领导集体与第一、第二代领导集体一样 ,都特别注意和善于把握住巩固执政地位关键在于党的自身状况这一根本点 ,都注重保持和加强党和人民群众的血肉联系 ,从而为党提供最深厚的力量源泉 ;同时 ,第三代领导集体在经济全球化、政治多极化趋势日益明显地时代背景下 ,善于及时提出、提升、提炼出执政党建设的经验教训 ,并对我们党的发展、巩固提出     

Rafael Pinedo’s Trilogy: Dystopian Visions and Populist Thought in Argentina’s Turn-of-the-century Narrative

The three short novels written by Rafael Pinedo (Argentina, 1954–2006) before his untimely death are increasingly attracting the attention of academic researchers, not only because of their complexity but also because of their take on Argentine politics and ideology. The following article analyzes how these novels operate within what Tom Moylan defined as a critical dystopian narrative. By narrating each story as a future world in agony, where all social interactions are described with a militant pessimism, the novels envisage the consequences of the populist’s policies grip on the country’s social and cultural environment. I argue that Plop (Casa de las Américas Prize 2002), Frío (Finalist for the 2004 Planeta Prize), and Subte can be read as a trilogy since they propose a radical thought experiment about the limits of the social and cultural practices of populist policies, as well as a mise-en-scène of its hijacking and betrayal of utopian values. The article also underlines how, despite its pessimistic tone, the novels offer a glimmer of hope by returning to basic concepts of community and empathy.     

Modernity and life politics: conceptualizing the biodiversity crisis

The article examines the implicit boundary narratives of both modernization theory and of its counter-discourses (neo-Malthusianism) and successors (globalism and reflexive modernization). Among the successors, special attention is given to the paradigm of reflexive modernization and its empirical corollary, the hypothesis of an emerging global agenda of “life politics”. After offering a matrix of basic theoretical responses to modernization theory, the paper locates the biodiversity crisis within current controversies about how to overcome the flaws of traditional modernization theory. It is suggested to trace the development of this policy area back to the early twentieth century and to reread it in the light of different societal and theoretical approaches toward modernization. In conclusion, it is argued that in order to enhance our analytical capabilities, the concept of life politics needs some critical injection from literatures more sensitive to notions such as spatiality, locatedness and the lived contexts of social groups.