Diverse economies and alternative spaces: An overview of approaches and practices

Abstract

Although the origins of the theoretical debate regarding political–economic alternatives are as old as Proudhon, Marx and Engels, discussion concerning alternative economic and political spaces has come to the foreground very recently. More specifically, in the field of geography the most influential approach has been that associated with work on diverse economies, developed initially by Gibson-Graham. Research in this area has increased at a significant rate, revealing a multitude of practices in what we call the hidden ‘neverland’ all over the world, while simultaneously posing a number of new and open questions. This article begins with a review of the main theoretical, methodological and epistemological assumptions underpinning the diverse economies approach. This is followed by a discussion of four concrete types of diverse/alternative spaces; those in post-socialist countries, alternative exchange networks, alternative food networks and the Mondragon cooperative corporation in Spain. The article concludes by arguing that while the debate on alternative and diverse economies may reflect a willingness on the part of the scholars to cooperate in order to build a postcapitalist future, it is also necessary to consider the possibilities and constraints operating at different scales, from individual to global, in order to consider the extent to which alternatives may be successful.

Organizing Solidarity Initiatives: A Socio-spatial Conceptualization of Resistance

“…These alternatives, guided by autonomy, solidarity and responsibility (Parker, Cheney, Fournier, & Land, 2014), include occupied (public) spaces (Daskalaki, 2014;Daskalaki, in press), workers' collectives and cooperatives (Kokkinidis, 2015;Varkarolis, 2012), Local Exchange Trade Systems (Gritzas & Kavoulakos, 2016), social clinics and pharmacies, and a variety of SIs (Rakopoulos, 2016). SIs address issues of social reproduction and respond to the affected communities' basic needs for food, clothing and health care (Arampatzi, 2016 (Vogiatzoglou, 2015).…”

Engaging the Non‐Flat World: Anarchism and the Promise of a Post‐Capitalist Collaborative Commons

“…Whether such a reverse‐engineered counter‐capitalist economy can maintain its integrity and resist being coopted is an open question. For one, even if these meta‐economic networks were composed of commons‐oriented cooperatives, by participating in the capitalist market they would still be forced to adopt some capitalist rationales, as has been much discussed with regard to the Mondragon Cooperative in the Basque region (Gibson‐Graham ; Gritzas and Kavoulakos ). A related issue pertains to CopyFair licensing, where the introduction of payment for work done in the commons threatens to become a re‐introduced form of rent that copies rather than overcomes capitalism (Rigi ).…”

Constructing solidarity as resistive and creative agency in austerity Greece

“…The multiplicities of backgrounds, goals and means among solidarity groups in real life practices often produce even more complex divergences and convergences that nuance the above typologies of either ÔinÕ, or ÔagainstÕ, or ÔbeyondÕ state solutions, towards hybrid forms of contestation. Thus, we can nuance and expand the above typologies of ÔalterityÕ discussed in Gritzas and Kavoulakos (2015), and think instead of Ôalternative-oppositional/ transformativeÕ institutions, such as the solidarity movements, as resistive of austerity and, at the same time, creative and innovative in their potential to transform existing, and producing new types of socio-economic relations. As mentioned by Giovanopoulos (Counterpunch 2016), eventually the transformative potential of solidarity movements involves an emancipatory project, towards popular participation in the exercising of power.…”