Patrons as Brokers

Samenvatting

Insights into the universal phenomenon of patronage can be obtained by examining the various roles involved in its operation. One such role is that of broker. Patronage is the use of resources by a person to assist or protect some other person who does not control such resources. These resources are of 2 types: (1) 1st order resources, such as land, jobs, wealth--which a person controls directly, and (2) 2nd order resources in the form of sr with persons who control 1st order resources. Those who control 1st order resources are patrons; those who control 2nd order resources are brokers. These roles are usually found in combination. By viewing the sr of a broker as a communication system, a number of questions relevant to the way he operates his role are suggested. These concern the type and number of messages he sends, the number and capacity of the channels he controls, the codes he uses, and the number of relays he can activate. A broker's network of strategic relations may also be regarded as business. This suggests questions which concern his credit rating, the nature of his creditors and debtors, his tariff scales, the types of transactions that are possible, and those that he has attempted. He makes a profit by providing communication services without specifying just what the tariff is or when it is due, thereby creating debt relations which serve to expand his credit rating and hence his capital, which consists of the open communication channels over which he can send messages. Ultimately he will try to convert 2nd to 1st order resources. The examination of an attempt by a Sicilian broker to do this suggests that conversions of this type are hazardous and may lead to a downward spiral of credit and bankruptcy of the enterprise. AA