He who relies on relatives and friends die poor

Class closure and stratagems of civility in peri-urban Kenya

Bibliographic Data

ID2254301
AuthorsP Lockwood (0000-0003-4326-8501, University of Manchester, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume29
Issue2
Pages326-346
Publication date2023-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1359-0987 • E-ISSN: 1467-9655
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1467-9655.13914
OpenAlexW4324139342
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited47

Africanist anthropology has tended to paint social relations on the continent in a positive light, giving the impression that a pro-social relationality will provide the poor with economic assistance in moments of need. This article troubles these accounts by turning to Kenya, where a history of socioeconomic stratification has created a landscape of class closure. Rather than generously give, upwardly mobile families seek to distance themselves from potential requests for material assistance. Meanwhile, they valorize their own hard work as the source of their success, encouraging the poor to follow suit: to pursue economic independence. In this context, the article underscores the work of relation-making as poor families attempt to keep social relationships with wealthy locals open by practising 'civility': hiding their anticipation of material support by concealing economic distress whilst outwardly performing their own success. Taking inspiration from F.G. Bailey's classic work on 'stratagems and spoils', the article emphasizes the interested, conscious effort of making relations as a means of combating economic exclusion in an unequal world

Anticipation (artificial intelligence · Archaeology · Civility · Closure (psychology · Context (archaeology · Independence · Independence (probability theory · Political science · Social class · Socioeconomic status · Sociology · Work (physics · African Studies and Ethnography · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Engineering · History · Law · Sex work and related issues