Description
This book critiques the notion that in Late Capitalism all economic relations become always ever more commodified, while non-capitalist activities disappear. It demonstrates that a combination of new cultures of resistance all constrain this tendency or even threaten to reverse it. Colin Williams finds that, even in the advanced economies, a non-commodified realm persists that is as large as the commodified sphere and growing relative to it. He draws on extensive empirical evidence of trends and new patterns of economic activity – including changes in women’s participation, differences between wealthy and poor urban areas, and between urban and rural sectors. He explores non-commodified practices of resistance. And he concludes that governments and communities, by de-coupling production and consumption from the commodified realm, could open up alternative development paths. 1. Introduction Part 1: The Penetration of Commodification: A Critical Evaluation 2. The Commodification Thesis 3. Subsistence Work 4. Non-Monetised Exchange 5. Not-for-Profit Monetised Exchange Part 2: The Uneven Contours of Commodification 6. Socio-Economic Disparities 7. The Uneven Geographies of Commodification 8. Gender and Commodification 9. Beyond the Advanced Economies Part 3: Future Options and their Implications 10. Towards a Commodified World 11. Doing Nothing 12. Fostering Plural Economies Part 4: Beyond a Commodified World 13. Cultivating Work beyond the Commodity Economy 14. Conclusions
