Cooperation, Inequality, and the Family

MCNICOLL AND CAIN ARGUE AGAINST SEEING economic-demographic relationships in an institution-free way, yielding technocratic policy conclusions that are straightforward and conflict-free.' Institutions, conflicts, and inequalities are central to understanding rural development. In this essay I shall concentrate particularly on the institution of the family and generally on issues of conflict as well as congruence of interests. The presentation is largely theoretical (even though empirical illustrations will be given), and I shall try to place the role of the family as an institution in a wide theoretical framework. Social relations between different persons typically involve both conflict and congruence of interest. Economic analysis of social problems cannot go very far without coming to grips with both the combative and the cooperative aspects of interpersonal and intergroup relations. It is, however, possible to emphasize one of these two aspects more than the other, and indeed it is easy to see that various economists have chosen a rather different balance of what to stress and what to neglect. Adam Smith's focus on the congruent aspects of interests of different people is, of course, well known, with his pointer to the advantages that each gains from the other's pursuit of self-interest.2 On the other hand, Marx's analysis of class conflicts and exploitation focused particularly on combative aspects of intergroup relations.3 Of course, Marx too devoted much attention to exploring the congruent elements in social relations (e.g., the widely shared benefits that capitalist development may bring to a feudal society). Indeed, both elements figure in the writings of all the major economists, and the differences lie in the emphasis placed on congruence versus conflict. Walras's investigation of the mutual benefits from the general equilibrium of production and trade, and Keynes's study of how the effective demand of one may create employment for another, primarily focus on elements of congruence. In contrast, Ricardo's analysis of the adverse effects of profitable machinery on workers' employment,