Launching a new market contract requires coercive mobilization of its own members.

Evidence

Melamed worried in particular about the competition from the futurestrading offshoot of the New York Stock Exchange, the world’s most powerful exchange: “I tell you that I was scared of them.” So “all chits were … called in” by Melamed to ensure the success of the Merc’s S&P futures. All those for whom he had done favors over the years were asked to return them by trading the new contract. Every member of the Mercantile Exchange was asked to spend at least 15 minutes every day trading in the S&P pit, and Melamed led the way by spending as much of every day as he could in the pit himself. “I used to meet with them in groups… I would meet with them one on one. Whatever it took. Get ‘em in the pit. Get ‘em in the pit.” (Melamed interview) A cash-settled index future contract worked and, some details aside, still works as follows. — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera, 774

Categorization

• CANDY: The image of Melamed cajoling members one-on-one — ‘Get ‘em in the pit’ — is a vivid mini-story about how markets are actually born.
• XREF: connects to: New financial markets require coercive persuasion of members to create initial liquidity — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera: How Financial…, 691; Building financial derivatives exchanges demanded large unpaid, personally costly commitments from organizers — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera: How Financial…, 671; Markets require abstract standardized assets that may not physically exist yet. (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• New financial markets require coercive persuasion of members to create initial liquidity #corroborates (0.92) — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera, 691
• Coercive mandates let institutions pursue changes too politically difficult on their own #expands (0.80) — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 1957
• Neoliberal market freedom required state violence to enforce submission to the market #exemplifies (0.78) — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market, 328
• Building financial derivatives exchanges demanded large unpaid, personally costly commitments from organizers #qualifies (0.75) — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera, 671
• Markets require abstract standardized assets that may not physically exist yet. #expands (0.72)