Money Talks: Moral Economies of Earning a Living in Neoliberal East Africa

Abstract

Neoliberal restructuring has targeted not just the economy, but also polity, society and culture, in the name of creating capitalist market societies. The societal repercussions of neoliberal policy and reform in terms of moral economy remain understudied. This article seeks to address this gap by analysing moral economy characteristics and dynamics in neoliberalised communities, as perceived by traders in Uganda and sex workers in Kenya. The interview data reveal perceived drivers that contributed to a significant moral dominance of money, self-interest, short-termism, opportunism and pragmatism. Equally notable are a perceived (i) close interaction between political–economic and moral–economic dynamics, and (ii) significant impact of the political–economic structure on moral agency. Respondents primarily referred to material factors usually closely linked to neoliberal reform, as key drivers of local moral economies. We thus speak of a neoliberalisation of moral economies, itself part of the wider process of embedding and locking-in market society structures in the two countries. An improved political economy of moral economy can help keep track of this phenomenon.

Keywords:

• neoliberalism
• market society
• moral economy
• Uganda
• Kenya

Acknowledgements

We thank Sam Bbosa for his invaluable work during the research in Uganda as well as Stylianos Frederic Moshonas, Ray Bush and the reviewers for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this text.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding

This research was supported by University of Sheffield and University of Leeds (PhD scholarships), the British Institute in Eastern Africa and the Gilchrist Educational Trust.

Notes on contributors

Jörg Wiegratz is Lecturer in Political Economy of Global Development at the University of Leeds. He researches the political economy and moral economy of neo-liberalism in Africa and elsewhere, with a focus on the topics of market society, moral restructuring, corporate fraud, anti-fraud measures and populism. In the past he has researched global value chains and industrial development, predominantly with an empirical focus on Uganda where he has worked as a consultant and researcher. He is the author of Uganda's Human Resource Challenge: Training, Business Culture and Economic Development (Fountain Publishers). He completed his Ph.D. thesis at the University of Sheffield in 2011.

Egle Cesnulyte is currently a Teaching Fellow at the School of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick. Her research explores gender aspects of social, economic and political structures in East Africa. She completed her Ph.D. thesis at the University of Leeds in 2013.

Notes

1. They traded mostly in assortment of fruits and vegetable food items (cabbage, tomatoes, onions, beans, bananas, potatoes); coffee; cereals. A very few also traded in animals (chicken, goats, cows). Some traders were small coffee farmers too (for example, 5–20 trees).

2. Not a real name of club.