Wealth-in-people and practical rationality: aspirations and decisions about money in South Africa

This article explores crucial decisions made by Sylvia, a Xhosa woman living in the townships of Cape Town, during a period of approximately thirty years. These decisions involved large sums of money and had important consequences for her own life, for those of her son and grandchild, and for the relationships she had with her first and second husbands and in‐laws. Sylvia's decisions continued to be influenced by gendered ways of belonging to ancestors and descendants but also show important changes in connecting wealth and people. The wealth‐in‐people approach offers important insights into how Sylvia's decisions are guided by power and control over people as well as by prestige. However, it also becomes evident that the wealth‐in‐people approach does not sufficiently explain or theorize the agency of people. By drawing on the philosophical notion of practical rationality as a complementary analytical perspective, I explore agency in relation to aspirations and the acquisition of new open‐ended values. The perspective offered by practical rationality increases our understanding of how individual decisions, especially complex decisions around money, are made because of their transformative potential and the aspiration to cultivate oneself.Horizon 2020(H2020)Global Challenges (FSW

Le nouveau visage de l'esclavage au XXe siècle

RÉSUMÉAu début du XXe siècle, l'esclavage de possession était illégal en Occident mais très répandu dans toute l'Afrique, au Moyen-Orient et dans d'autres régions. Les esclaves n'avaient aucun droit et leur asservissement était à vie et héréditaire. Dans les années 1920 et 1930, la Société des Nations (SDN) mit en place des commissions pour s'informer sur l'esclavage « sous toutes ces formes ». Ces commissions élargirent la définition de l'esclavage pour y inclure le travail forcé, le mariage forcé, le mariage des enfants, l'héritage des veuves, l'adoption d'enfants en vue de leur exploitation, la mise en gage d'êtres humains, le servage et la servitude pour dettes. L'Organisation internationale du travail (OIT) enquêta sur le travail forcé, et des conventions furent alors signées contre l'esclavage et le travail forcé. Après la Seconde Guerre mondiale, les Nations Unies et l'OIT continuèrent leurs enquêtes sur la servitude et la dénégation des droits de l'Homme. L'esclavage de possession fut rendu illégal partout dès 1970, même s'il persistait dans quelques endroits reculés. Toutefois, d'autres formes d'exploitation, connues aujourd'hui sous le nom d'« esclavage contemporain », connaissaient un grand développement. Parmi elles figurent la servitude pour dettes, la prostitution forcée, le trafic d'êtres humains, le travail des enfants, l'exploitation de la main-d'œuvre, le tourisme sexuel, les enfants-soldats et l'adoption d'enfants en vue de leur exploitation. Elles sont toutes alimentées par les disparités de richesse entre les nations, les petites guerres, l'amélioration des communications, le blanchiment de l'argent et la montée du crime organisé. Cet article retrace les changements en termes de formes et de définitions de l'esclavage au XXe siècle et évalue l'action prise par la SDN, les Nations Unies, sans oublier les organisations non gouvernementales toujours plus nombreuses.ABSTRACTThe Changing Face of Slavery in the 20th Century.By the early 20th century chattel slavery was illegal in the western world but was widespread in Africa, the Middle East and certain remote areas.   Chattel slaves had no rights.   In the 1920s and 1930s the League of Nations established committees to investigate slavery "in all its forms".   These expanded the definition of slavery to include forced labour, forced or child marriage, the inheritance of widows, the adoption of children for their exploitation, pawning, peonage, and debt bondage.   The International Labour Organization investigated forced labour.   Conventions were signed against both slavery and forced labour.   After World War II, the United Nations, and the International Labour Organization, set up committees to investigate all forms of servitude and denial of human rights.   They negotiated further conventions.   Chattel slavery was outlawed everywhere from 1970 although it continued in remote areas.   However, there was a great increase in other forms of exploitation, now known as "contemporary slavery".   These include debt bondage, forced prostitution, trafficking in people, child labour, sweated labour, sex-tourism, child soldiers and adoption for exploitation; all fuelled by disparities in the wealth of nations, small wars, the ease of communication and money laundering, together with the rise of organized crime.   This article traces the changes in the forms and definitions of slavery in the 20th century and considers the action taken by the League of Nations, the United Nations, and the rapidly proliferating non-governmental organizations