Fast Money Schemes

Hope and Deception in Papua New Guinea

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Anthropology, Political Science, International
Cover of the book Fast Money Schemes by John Cox, Indiana University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: John Cox ISBN: 9780253035653
Publisher: Indiana University Press Publication: October 2, 2018
Imprint: Indiana University Press Language: English
Author: John Cox
ISBN: 9780253035653
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Publication: October 2, 2018
Imprint: Indiana University Press
Language: English

In the late 1990s and early 2000s a wave of Ponzi schemes swept through Papua New Guinea, Australia, and the Solomon Islands. The most notorious scheme, U-Vistract, attracted many thousands of investors, enticing them with promises of 100 percent interest to be paid monthly. Its founder, Noah Musingku, was a charismatic leader who promoted the scheme as a form of Christian mission and as the basis for establishing an independent kingdom.

Fast Money Schemes uses in-depth interviews with investors, newspaper accounts, and participant observation to understand the scheme's appeal from the point of view of those who invested and lost, showing that organizers and investors alike understood the scheme as a way of accessing and participating in a global economy. John Cox delivers a "post-village" ethnography that gives insight into the lives of urban, middle-class Papua New Guineans, a group that is not familiar to US readers and that has seldom been a focus of anthropological interest. The book's concern with understanding the interweaving of morality, finance, and aspirations shared by a global cosmopolitan middle class has wide resonance beyond studies of Papua New Guinea and anthropology.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In the late 1990s and early 2000s a wave of Ponzi schemes swept through Papua New Guinea, Australia, and the Solomon Islands. The most notorious scheme, U-Vistract, attracted many thousands of investors, enticing them with promises of 100 percent interest to be paid monthly. Its founder, Noah Musingku, was a charismatic leader who promoted the scheme as a form of Christian mission and as the basis for establishing an independent kingdom.

Fast Money Schemes uses in-depth interviews with investors, newspaper accounts, and participant observation to understand the scheme's appeal from the point of view of those who invested and lost, showing that organizers and investors alike understood the scheme as a way of accessing and participating in a global economy. John Cox delivers a "post-village" ethnography that gives insight into the lives of urban, middle-class Papua New Guineans, a group that is not familiar to US readers and that has seldom been a focus of anthropological interest. The book's concern with understanding the interweaving of morality, finance, and aspirations shared by a global cosmopolitan middle class has wide resonance beyond studies of Papua New Guinea and anthropology.

More books from Indiana University Press

Cover of the book The Dead Sea and the Jordan River by John Cox
Cover of the book African Art and Agency in the Workshop by John Cox
Cover of the book Ethnographies of the State in Central Asia by John Cox
Cover of the book Music and Embodied Cognition by John Cox
Cover of the book Becoming Soviet Jews by John Cox
Cover of the book Global Pentecostalism in the 21st Century by John Cox
Cover of the book Sexual Behavior in the Human Female by John Cox
Cover of the book Deep Maps and Spatial Narratives by John Cox
Cover of the book Translation and the Arts in Modern France by John Cox
Cover of the book Modern Ladino Culture by John Cox
Cover of the book The Terrorist Trap, Second Edition by John Cox
Cover of the book Keystone Korner by John Cox
Cover of the book Menahem Pressler by John Cox
Cover of the book My Name Was Never Frankenstein by John Cox
Cover of the book Framing Sukkot by John Cox
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy