Question

Contrast the neoliberal economic view of “the market” adopted by the young entrepreneurs in el-Hirafiyeen with the approach to markets taken by master craftsmen in Cairo. What kinds of value underlay each view? How did this affect their conduct of business activities?

Answer 1

During structural adjustment in Egypt, urban reform dislodged multiple craftsmen from their old sites in the city. They were to be relocated in el-Hirafiyeen. . Obviously, it didn’t work. Almost all of the displaced craftsmen vacated the new town, almost all the ‘youth’ coached by NGOs to be micro-entrepreneurs flopped. This happened due to the framework of the free market which fuelled structural adjustment & the micro-enterprise schemes which arose in its wake. These attempted to expand the reach of “the market” (& thus extract worth from the persons & networks who were dislocated), but that this “market” was an inapt vision of how small enterprises operate. This is signified by the way in which foreign agencies & their client NGOs discarded the idea of craftsmen for micro-entrepreneurial youth. The economy of ordinary persons in Cairo survived thru an arrangement of artisanal production & trade which appeared like Mauss’s overall social phenomena. It was undifferentiated from a set of political, social & religious relations. The successful craftsman was recognized as a master of his trade. Earnings from the business went to political & religious purposes, & this solidified the repute of the craftsman. Craftsmen weren’t purely rivals, but usually co-operated in multiple manners. The youth who were registered in the NGOs’ micro-enterprise training programs were taught a very distinct manner of business. Not particularly skilled in a trade, they were imparted management lessons & how to think regarding profit & loss