They were, and still are a very accepting people, who value courtesy and etiquette (at least their own forms of it) very highly. Although this report will not touch on it, the Fante also value greatly family and extended village bonds. To make no comment on their changed society, the Fante previously lived a simple and generally good life. .
Like much of Africa, Ghana was once a European colony, and because of this, suffers from many of the same problems. The people of Ghana are "behind" in the global race, clearly a Third World country. The author briefly describes the imbalance between Western and African trade, the "flaw" in the design that keeps Ghanaian, and so also the Fante people very poor. The Fante have been forced to very quickly adapt to a modern capitalist economy, when before they had no idea what capitalism was at all. The author spends the most time, in the Economy section, on a story about the purchasing of concrete poles for bringing electricity to the Fante village. I feel like this is a very clear example of the period of transition these people are in. First, there is still a tribal council of elders who are deciding on this capitalistic problem of buying poles. The chief is not there, so there is a "chairman" who sits with similar authority on this topic. The people buying the poles have many considerations and values that are different from those of a western people doing business. Unfortunately, the values held by the Fante are not very good for business, and the anthropologist tries to explain this. When thinking about buying the poles, the Fante council considers the people needed to put in these poles. They still hold all of their values of family and kinship, and they know that the men who will do the work are their brothers and friends. This aspect becomes a real part of the bargaining, and is a major sticking point for the council. The problem is that the labor would be thrown in free with the price of the poles, but like I said, the labor is being done not by some strangers, but by the villagers, so the council must not forget this, based on their values.