Alvin Lim | University of Melbourne (original) (raw)

Papers by Alvin Lim

This paper will be a critical analysis of the inefficacy and inability of African states - partic... more This paper will be a critical analysis of the inefficacy and inability of African states - particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa - to build and sustain effective public institutions, and how it has hurt economic development. I will discuss possible explanations for Africa’s inability to build accountable and transparent states with strong public institutions. Further, I will argue that switching aid with investment is not the solution. What is more crucial is a push to build strong public institutions with credible central planning capabilities.

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Critics, mainly in the field of anthropology have challenged the hegemony of formal economics as ... more Critics, mainly in the field of anthropology have challenged the hegemony of formal economics as ‘defining non-market economic action through the lens of market
models’ (Hann & Hart 2011). Even as formalists run the danger of being ethnocentric, anthropology has largely been sidelined despite its traditionally in-depth and ethnographical approach. In this essay, I will argue that even as formal economics gained prominence as a universal truth, it has been insubstantial in its assumptions on human behaviour. I will argue this notion from the standpoint of trust and identity construction in the financial sector; how non- quantitative measures of value such as trust continue to underscore transactions in the formalist financial world. In doing so, I will draw upon Hann & Hart (2011)’s work to explain the surge of formal economics in the twentieth century, its dominance as a construct of modernity, and its inadequacies. Finally, I will explore consumption as a discourse of identity construction in contemporary finance, before concluding with normative implications for anthropology in understanding the ‘economy’ today.

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The supply-chain is an inherent, perpetuated feature of the capitalist system. As we see it, the ... more The supply-chain is an inherent, perpetuated feature of the capitalist system. As we see it, the supply-chain works by compartmentalising production in the interest of boosting productivity and reducing overheads. This paper will attempt to discuss the disciplinary power that accompanies the permeation of what Anna Tsing (2009) called 'supply chain capitalism’.
In the vein of James Scott’s work on hidden forms of resistance, I will argue that resistance is being exacted from within the supply-chain by workers against a pervasive, unnatural discipline exacted on them to become a “unit” of production.
I argue that Marx’s old dialectic - of the labourer disenfranchised from the product of labour - has been supplanted by a new dialectic of what I call a “culture of helplessness”. This draws from Marxian ideology of commodity fetishism and its relationship with economies of scale, from which supply-chain capitalism draws its roots.
I will anchor the discussion with historical and anthropological studies of production, consumption and exchange in the global economy and juxtapose this to the mechanisms of supply-chain capitalism. I will attempt to explain this “culture of helplessness” presented by supply-chain capitalism by drawing upon the works of Scott, Aihwa Ong, Michael Taussig and Michel Foucault. In so doing, I will highlight the individual’s role as “market participant” in perpetuating this helplessness.

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Australia is an ethnically diverse migrant nation with a melting pot of cultures. Yet, racial ten... more Australia is an ethnically diverse migrant nation with a melting pot of cultures. Yet, racial tensions have persisted, most recently with attacks known as curry bashings which has targeted foreigners and non-White immigrants (D'Costa 2010). Numerous studies have shown that racism in countries with significant migrant populations is closely linked to economic relations in the labour market, such as in Europe (Okkerse 2008). Yet in Australia, there is a ʻdearth of empirical evidenceʼ (Dunn et al. 2004, p. 1) on the nature and ex- tent of racism in this context.

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The Global Financial Crisis of 2008-2012 is widely considered to be second in severity to only th... more The Global Financial Crisis of 2008-2012 is widely considered to be second in severity to only the Great Depression of the 1930s. Sardonically coined as the ʻGreat Recessionʼ by commentators and media alike, what began as a housing crisis in the United States rapidly degenerated into a systemic mess that wrecked brand-name financial institutions, led to government bailouts and in some cases, liquidation. The crisis reduced consumer wealth in the region of trillions and sparked off a series of recessions in both the developed and developing world. In this essay I will look at the causes, evaluate the measures taken to contain it and examine some of the underlying discourses that plied the timeline of the recession.

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In this essay I will analyse two studies of Internet and online gaming addiction and use them to ... more In this essay I will analyse two studies of Internet and online gaming addiction and use them to discuss the differences between qualitative and quantitative social science re- search. For this purpose, I have picked two papers published from the CyberPsychology & Behavior journal, a peer-reviewed journal of psychosocial research on cyberspace. The two studies are distinctly different in methodology although similar in scope. By comparing these studies, I will discuss the merits and demerits of the two methods; how suitable, consistent or effective they were in the research questions asked, and their normative im- plications in the larger scale of things.

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