Multiscalar moral economy

Abstract

This article addresses the relevance of the moral economy concept in light of unequal socioeconomic relations between a European agribusiness and rural residents in Zambia. It argues that the moral economy concept offers a helpful heuristic device for analyzing how relationships are constituted, negotiated, and contested among interdependent actors with “opposing” socioeconomic interests. To explain the dynamics of their relationships, however, the moral economy concept has to extend beyond its usual, spatially restricted (i.e., local) focus. Instead, “external,” distant, non-local actors, such as foreign critics concerned about “land grabbing,” also influence the local character of moral-economic exchanges between the agribusiness and rural residents. Hence, the article proposes a multiscalar perspective to account for the influence of a wider array of actors.

The Moral Matrix of Capitalism: Insights from Central and Eastern Europe

“…They highlight the importance of taking a multi-scalar approach to moral economies, even where the ethnographic focus remains local. 69 another theme is the role of affect and emotions for the expression and (re)production of moral economies and orders, including the overt celebration and performance of corporate values, financial success, and social status (the contributions of Bolgurova and Schimpfössl). Indeed, while a moral economic approach is traditionally concerned with analysing collective ways of shaping moral ideas, the contributions highlight the way contemporary capitalism in the region supports the cultural and economic hegemony of individuality.…”