The purpose of this thesis is to give a critical analysis of ¡§Macphersonian possessive individualism¡¨, with regards to the issues of historical methodology as well as political theory. Having introduced my project of study in the opening chapter, I begin chapter two with an examination of the very idea of ¡§possessive individualism¡¨ proposed by C. B. Macpherson, and the theory of property and democracy that the thinker comes to develop in his later works. In chapter three, I turn to cope with the methodological problems implicit in Macpherson¡¦s study of history, mainly in terms of the Cambridge School¡¦s serious attack on its anti-historicity. In addition, the relative criticisms that I have addressed to Macpherson¡¦s methodology include the Marxist determinism and the Rationalist mode of modernity that appear his work. In chapter four, by contrast, it is Macpherson¡¦s theory of property and democracy that is under consideration. Here, taking the thought of Hayek as my case, I set out to show how the liberal formulations of democracy and property can still be free from Macpherson¡¦s Marxist charge. Finally, I conclude this thesis with a brief talk about the plausibility of Giddens¡¦ third way as the possible solution for the long-term debate regarding the intricate tension between property and equality.

This thesis is concerned with the cultural shifts that have occurred in Lihir, Papua New Guinea, as Lihirians were drawn into greater engagement with the capitalist system, initially through the colonial labour trade and more recently through large-scale resource extraction. This research draws upon 15 months of fieldwork in the Lihir Islands from 2003 to 2004. This thesis is intended as a critical dialogue with world system theorists.World systems arguments are constructive for understanding how Lihirians have remained economically marginal.However, I reject the assertion commonly propounded in these approaches that the world capitalist system inevitably destroys ‘traditional’ cultures and remakes them to its own specifications. Working from Sahlins’ (1985, 1992) premise that there is always continuity in change, I have sought to illustrate those enduring structures and received cultural values that have shaped Lihirian engagement with the capitalist system. My concern iswith articulation rather than penetration; to capture the dialectic of global structural inequalities and Lihirian selective appropriation. This approach allows me to emphasise the heterogeneity of Lihirian culture, notonly prior to sustained European contact, or even mining activities, but specifically at the height of their engagement with the capitalist system. (For complete abstract open document)