The Anti-Political Machine By James Ferguson

The Anti-Political Machine written by James Ferguson is an ethnographic novel that clarifies the clash of Western modern economic development in Less-Developed Countries (LDC). Developmental projects rooted in South Africa, Lesotho demonstrations structural changes for citizens of poverty and agriculture as international interest. The theory of anti-political machine practices structural discourse disconnected from the traditional political power. To solve issues of poverty by industrial development or international globalization the expansion of a specific project to manage cattle is justified through failure in the Bovine Mystique. The dislocated practice in a traditional cultural status of cattle, local farmers prevented the degraded value
of cattle in the market. The investment of tradition regardless of land shortages, soil erosion, and drought, avoided the livestock to be a commodity to capitalism. The Bovine Mystique is an older practice by Lesotho and Basotho farmers who are optimistic about the recovery of cultural heritage through investment. With the Anti-Political machine using development as a focus towards economic issues than as a cultural difference, the problem of fixing the issues in developing countries becomes less universal. The dominance of power and knowledge from authoritarianism creates dependencies in development. Described by the author “This Mystique, which makes livestock such a special sort of property, in facts, owes its continued existence to a whole range of social forces…” (Ferguson, 137). Cattle associated to the economic value attached to them, creating a cattle business would disassociate the cultural pricelessness of managing a herd through more privatized means. Through the development apparatus, the discourse is focused through Western perspectives and the unfortunate segregation in African apartheids using capitalism for maintaining different spheres of exchange. The development apparatus in Western discourse is acquired through relationships with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Non-governmental organizations (NGO’s), United Nations (UN), and World Bank. Portrayed in the structural production, “As one cog in the machine, the planning apparatus is not the source of whatever structural changes may come about, but only one among a number of links in the mechanism that produces them”(Ferguson, 275). The social philosophy needed to engage with capitalism uses methods of preventing poverty to perpetuate development through bureaucratic control. With the Anti-Political Machine acting to its own accord, the subjects face a large problem of physiological and discipline discourse. The impression that discourse is needed towards less developed countries from more developed countries creates economic gaps from a business. A country considered less developed is interpreted as impoverished rather than maintaining traditional cultural solidary ties. Within the Anti-Political Machine Thaba-Tseka, livestock and land use projects failed to create commercial cattle industry in Lesotho. According to Ferguson, “If livestock owners are not willing to sell their stock, this is based on a rational appraisal of the use-values of the animals versus a particular amount of cash” (Ferguson, 137). Arguably the emphasis of the development apparatus through the anti-political machine is disassociating from the personal ownership of cattle. Often times, the dysfunctional system in the rural development industry is creating more poverty rather than alleviating poverty through a one-sided expansion. The lack of commitment towards the business model is a prime example of why the development apparatus has to be more concrete in a specialized way through anti-politics to make a successful difference for projects. Capitalisms push for newer free market expansion is only stable with the participation of dependence in society. Whether the markets are a good or bad solution to rising South Africa countries Gross Domestic Product (GDP/GPI), regulating the social economy creates a form of structured economics. The freedom of social values reduces the power of state functions and governmental activity repelling the ideas of globalization and trade unions. The policy model of neoliberalism transfers economic influence of public and private sectors as capillaries within the market. In James Ferguson’s case, the Bovine Mystique perpetuated development from constant failure, yet prevented globalization from actually occurring.
The strategic method was against the political power that was developed by the Western discourse mindset branding cows with higher monetary value and associated with land. The Bovine Mystique by the Lesotho farmers went against the South African authoritative development plans organized by a development apparatus. The cultural values of individuals and that the large history is perpetuated by the engagement of what is considered old and new capitalism. The development discourse becomes localized through the disassociation of cultural perception. The discourse is localized on farmers and impoverished by the South African push towards Western discourse. Perpetuating international capitalism has gone against the farmers and is removed from the society of local and governmental individuals. From the chapters of the re-creation of tradition, “It may be true that the rules governing livestock obstruct a wealthy stock owner’s road to capital accumulation, but at the same time, they make him the most respected man in the community”(Ferguson, 165-166). The disconnect between politics and the people by reconstructing economic difference between the poorest and richest countries. The developmental apparatus created by richer countries using the adaptation of wealth to critique the economic dependency upon structure ideologies. The post-colonial countries to replace cultural values with ties through business productivity. The Anti-Political Machine functions by untouched modern economic development seeing the truth in unorthodox ways that challenge the independence of individuals. Political parties mixed with the government agenda to thrive for economic growth stems from traditional livestock farmers unwilling to give up their cattle and join employment wage
labor.