Cultivating Beyond‐Capitalist Economies

Abstract

Conceptualizations of the economy as diverse and multiple have garnered increased attention in economic geography in recent years. Against the debilitating mantra of TINA (there is no alternative), these conceptualizations use an ontology of proliferation to insist that many viable and vital alternatives to capitalism do, in fact, exist. I aim to contribute to this project with a close reading of the diverse formal and informal economic practices associated with the village of Puno in the Philippines. In doing so, I respond to calls for work that begins in the majority world and that focuses on the broader political project associated with diverse economies. Research in this area has frequently been critiqued for not paying sufficient attention to the unstable yet persistent exclusions that may endure in, and may even be enhanced by, alternative economies. With this article, I aim to investigate the ways that power relations work through the diverse economies of Puno and the ways that residents act to transform these relations. In doing so, I draw on the experiences of three residents of Puno and their involvement in three social movement organizations. I find that the economy is usefully understood as a site of struggle in which residents work to redefine themselves and the economy. The diverse spaces of their economic lives are neither strictly alternative nor mainstream, inherently oppressive nor radical. Rather, the people of Puno are engaged in willfully cultivating spaces-beyond-capitalism through which they transform the very meaning of economic practice. Copyright (c) 2010 Clark University.

Towards a critical geography of disaster recovery politics: Perspectives on crisis and hope

“…They argue that by creating a discourse of capitalism as “larger than life” the existence of alternatives are obscured, disempowering those creating change and disenchanting others (Braun, , p. 840). By taking care not to enshrine neoliberalism as an all‐powerful, monolithic ideology, this more nuanced perspective also avoids the over‐theorising of capitalism as without an alternative (Gibson‐Graham, , ; Wright, ). When applied to the context of disaster recovery, this perspective illuminates how discourses of the passive disaster victim, and overarching narratives of disaster capitalism could act to disempower citizens and foreclose opportunities for different approaches to reconstruction and recovery (Solnit, ).…”

“…Theories of alternative or community‐based economies that transcend, work within and resist the practices of capitalism are an important development beyond a conceptualisation of economy that is conflated with capitalism (Wright, ). More widely, a focus on these potentially radical arrangements facilitates a hopeful perspective on the possibilities for change and transformation (Cameron & Hicks, ; Gibson‐Graham, ; Lawson, ).…”

‘The Focus Has to be on Helping People Make a Living’: Exploring Diverse Economies and Alternative Economic Spaces

“…Wright’s research significantly strengthens arguments that economies are indeed full of contradictions, tensions and alternatives (Jonas 2010; Samers and Pollard 2010; Schreven et al. 2008; Wright 2010).…”

“…Questions regarding gender, class, or race are largely excluded in Carnegie’s analysis – and in general have been somewhat excluded from literature on diverse economies. It is in this way that Wright’s (2010) recent work offers significant contributions to the diverse economies research program. Wright’s analysis of the small village of Puno in the Philippines also follows Gibson‐Graham’s framework.…”

“…2010; Leyshon et al. 2003; Wright 2010). Yet, with excitement and hope can come a healthy amount of doubt – as Schreven et al.…”