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Neoliberal times: Progress, boredom, and shame among young men in urban Ethiopia
Author(s) -
MAINS DANIEL
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
american ethnologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.875
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1548-1425
pISSN - 0094-0496
DOI - 10.1525/ae.2007.34.4.659
Subject(s) - shame , boredom , normative , capitalism , sociology , neoliberalism (international relations) , value (mathematics) , gender studies , construct (python library) , operationalization , social psychology , political economy , political science , psychology , politics , law , philosophy , epistemology , machine learning , computer science , programming language
In this article, I examine discourses and practices surrounding employment, the experience of time, and international migration among young men in urban Ethiopia to demonstrate the value and limits of understanding cultural and economic processes in terms of neoliberal capitalism. Young men's inability to experience progress and take on the normative responsibilities of adults is conditioned by economic policies associated with structural adjustment and local values surrounding occupational status. Young men construct international migration as a solution to their temporal problems. I argue that local values surrounding status and shame highlight the importance of social relationships for conceptualizing time and space.