October Grab'd Lunch

 

Abstract:  Social cohesion is a popular topic in the social sciences generally, but not so much in anthropology-- perhaps because the concept remains vaguely defined.  Sociologists, political scientists, and economists agree that social cohesion is GOOD, but they don’t agree on what it IS.  In Madagascar, social cohesion is enshrined in the Constitution, and is a topic of daily conversation.   I argue that social cohesion (filongoa) is an institution-- a set of rules, norms, and customs that organizes people to work together toward a common goal-- although it is not the kind of institution that North calls an organization, in that there is no standing committee.  In my recent research I ask (a) what factors make for good or bad cohesion? (b) who and how are rules enforced? (c) how does cohesion interact with other institutions, including organizations? (d) what are the outcomes of good or bad cohesion?  I most address question (a).  Southwestern Malagasy people perceive cohesion as fragile, because it exacerbated by both inequality and equality, because people have good and bad souls, and because of distrust and fear of sorcery.  Cohesion is stabilized by other institutions, including organizations.  In a quantitative dataset (which I may not have time to discuss), villages with worse cohesion tend to have larger populations, more income, better education, more christian converts, and a greater reliance on agriculture.