Article Title

“Give a Man a Fish: Reflections on the New Politics of Distribution”, by James Ferguson [Book Review]

Authors

Daniela Atanasova

Abstract

Development policy and discourse have long shied away from the idea of giving money directly to the poor. In his latest book, anthropologist James Ferguson argues that this reluctance is slowly giving way. He documents a veritable ‘cash transfer revolution’ taking place in the Global South, with countries such as South Africa, Brazil and Namibia in the vanguard. Drawing on a rich empirical and ethnographic literature on cash transfers and the livelihoods of the poor, with a focus on southern Africa, Ferguson delivers a thought-provoking analysis of the genesis, limitations and radical potential of these programmes. At its most original, the book is a meditation on dependence, distribution and the future of work and radical politics.

Recommended Citation

Atanasova, Daniela (2016) "“Give a Man a Fish: Reflections on the New Politics of Distribution”, by James Ferguson [Book Review]," Southern African Journal of Policy and Development: Vol. 3: No. 1, Article 7.
Available at: https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/sajpd/vol3/iss1/7