Han and Jabba Bargain (A New Hope)

JJabba The Hutt expresses his disappointment in Han Solo for being late with a payment. Han is one of Jabba’s smugglers in the illegal goods market and recently dropped his cargo at the sight of an imperial starship, which lost Jabba money. To alleviate Jaba’s disappointment Han offers to not only pay him back but also “plus a little extra” if he is given more time. Jaba takes this opportunity to request an extra 20%. To this, Han negotiates this down to 15%. After the two agree on 15%, Jabba tells Han that if he fails to make this payment there will be a price on his head “so big [that Han] won’t be able to go near a civilized system” due to the illegal market of bounty hunters. This is a good description of bargaining, of course. But it also is a good example of the fact that these two cannot go to a court to settle their disputes since this is a Black Market, or illegal, nonregulated, market. Many Black Markets, like those for drugs, see more violence and coercion since disputes cannot be settled by institutions, such as in a court of law. (When markets are legal, violence from disputes is rare. When was the last time Coca-Cola and Walmart threatened violence against each other when bargaining?). Learn more about Bargaining, Negotiation, Institutions, Black Markets, and Coercion in this clip!

Discussion Questions for Han and Jabba Bargain

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