Unequal Egalitarianism: Reflections on Forge's Paradox

Abstract

Anthony Forge was a pioneer in the anthropology of art and established an international reputation in this field. His work on the political anthropology of egalitarianism, by contrast, has been virtually ignored because of the demise of British Social Anthropology as a method, and the rise of inequality as the problem to be investigated. Some fifty years have passed since Forge did his fieldwork in the Sepik District of Papua New Guinea; a critical reappraisal of his method and ideas in light of the political history of democracy in Oceania is called for. Equality as a male value has re-emerged as a key concern for the new ‘Big Shot’, so too has equal exchange, but in the form of the commercial gift. If we are to grasp the general principles, and paradoxes, that inform transactions of this kind, anthropologists need to reassess their prejudices about the method of British Social Anthropology.