The Native World-System ─ An Ethnography of Bolivian Aymara Traders in the Global Economy

Based on years of fieldwork, this ethnography of the Bolivian Aymara trading system and its networks and economic strategies examines one of the most up-and-coming forms of indigenous entrepreneurship on the American continent, in a region where the indigenous population is still stigmatized for being associated with poverty and backward ways. In doing so, it illuminates a critical dynamic of globalization that is taking place behind the scenes. By analyzing Aymara economic institutions and networks and their concepts and practices of business management, The Native World-System describes a system in which indigenous sociopolitical structures and religious values and beliefs are interwoven with an advanced economic practice, specialized technological know-how, and global networks.

The Native World-System is a volume in the ISSUES OF GLOBALIZATION: CASE STUDIES IN CONTEMPORARY ANTHROPOLOGYseries, which examines the experiences of individual communities in our contemporary world. Each volume offers a brief and engaging exploration of a particular issue arising from globalization and its cultural, political, and economic effects on certain peoples or groups.

Nico Tassi is a Research Associate at University College London and at the Centro de Investigaciones Sociales (CIS) in La Paz, Bolivia.