Beyond (anti)utilitarianism: khat and alternatives to growth in northern Madagascar

Abstract

Abstract:Madagascar has one of the lowest GDPs in the world. Colonization brought the country into the global economy, but left it at its margins-vulnerable to the hardships of structural adjustment and limitations of state infrastructure. This analysis reveals economic decision-making that defies the utilitarian logic of homo economicus and inspires creative thinking about alternatives to growth as a dominant paradigm. In northern Madagascar, the economy of the stimulant khat is part of one socionatural world characterized by low levels of production and consumption. Madagascar provides a case study for suggesting that "making a living" invokes an intricate web of material desires, cultural meaning, and social connections that do not necessarily revolve around a capitalist growth motive. This article proposes that a path to sustainability is not only in changing social imaginaries but also in valorizing and leveraging cognitive orientations and practices that exist but that may fall below the radar of traditional economic analysis. Keywords: Madagascar, khat, utilitarian, degrowth, economy, urban Résumé:Le Madagascar a un des PIB les plus bas au monde. La colonisation a ouvert le pays à l'économie mondiale, mais l'a laissé dans les marges-vulnérable aux difficultés d'ajustement structurel et aux limites des infrastructures de l'état. Cette analyse montre les prises de décisions économiques qui défient la logique utilitariste de l'homo economicus, et elles inspirent une pensée créative qui conçoit des alternatives de croissance comme paradigme prédominant. Dans le nord du Madagascar, l'économie du stimulant khat fait partie d'un des mondes socio-naturels caractérisé par de bas niveaux de production et consommation. Madagascar fournit une étude de cas qui le fait de « gagner sa vie » qui invoque un réseau de désirs matériels, de signification culturelle, ainsi que d'appartenance sociale qui ne gravitent point autour d'une motivation de croissance capitaliste. Cet article propose que le chemin vers la durabilité ne réside pas seulement dans le changement des imaginaires sociaux, mais dans la valorisation et l'appropriation d'orientations cognitives et de pratiques qui existent mais qui ne sont pas détectées dans les analyses économiques traditionnelles. Mots clés: Madagascar, khat, utilitarisme, décroissance, économie, urbain ResumenMadagascar tiene uno de los PIB más bajos del mundo. La colonización connectó el país con la economía global, pero lo dejó a sus márgenes, vulnerable a las dificultades del ajuste estructural y las limitaciones de la infraestructura estatal. Este análisis revela un caso en que la toma de decisiones económicas desafía la lógica utilitaria del homo economicus y así inspira el pensamiento creativo sobre alternativas al crecimiento como paradigma dominante. En el norte de Madagascar, la economía del khat, un estimulante, es parte de un mundo socio-natural caracterizado por bajos niveles de producción y consumo. Este caso de estudio en Madagascar sugiere que, en algunos contextos, la id...

What about the City? Towards an Urban Post-Growth Research Agenda

“…The most common role cities take in the post-growth literature is best described as 'arena'. With cities as arenas, I mean that cities feature as sites or contexts where or in which something takes place, for instance real estate speculation [75] or informal economic practices [79]. This can also be the case in quite abstract terms, when cities function as place where consumption and overshoot takes place [68], where everyday life unfolds [75] or as the "locus of global environmental problems" [54].…”

Levels and Health Risk Assessments of Heavy Metals in Khat and Its Support Soil in Algesachi, Ilu Ababor, Ethiopia

“… 13 Furthermore, it was previously estimated that the high profits of this crop surpasses the earnings from other cereals by almost 2.7-fold. 14 , 15 It is currently one of the top 5 sources of export revenue, and its income for the budgetary year that ended in 2021/22 was $392 million.…”

Work ethic and degrowth in a changing Atlantic Canada

“…It supports as well the compelling findings of the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA), that rural households are more resilient and stable when they make a living from multiple, diverse, waged and unwaged provisioning activities than a single waged job (Gibson, Cahill and McKay 2015). Just as the adaptations and politico-moral commitments of communities featured in the other articles in this Special Section offer hope that degrowth mentalities are already shaping social life in workable ways-it is this traditional work ethic that represents what Kathi Weeks, borrowing from Foucault and Deleuze and Gauttari, calls a "line of flight" (p.81) away from productivist, growth-centric society and toward a sustainable vision (Berglund 2017;Cox Hall 2017;Devore 2017;Gezon 2017;Lockyer 2017). It is to such visions of degrowth, and what they say (or don't say) about the work ethic, that I now turn.…”