Powers of Good and Evil

<p> A key theme in the anthropology of beliefs is the relationship between socio-economic change and changes in the belief system. It has been widely argued that rapid economic change particularly the introduction of capitalism leads to an increase in beliefs in and representations of evil and the devil. These beliefs it is argued constitute forms of resistance to or rejection of modernity. This volume builds on these arguments suggesting that rather than an indigenous resistance to capitalism such representations signal a profound moral ambivalence towards the socio-economic process inherent in capitalist economy. Using a range of examples from Surinamese zombies to American horror films it demonstrates the extent to which evil imagery is linked to a fear of excess particularly in situations where people find themselves or perceive themselves to be peripheral to the centers of political economic and cultural power.</p>