The Alternative Economy at the Regional Scale? Lessons From the Chiemgau

North, Peter; Weber, Katinka

doi:10.14361/transcript.9783839424988.43

Cited by 8 publications

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“…Beyond acknowledging the different alterity types of AENs, North argues that 'the commitment is to the theorization of the conditions in which things might be different not to the barriers to change' (North, 2010: 34). He recognises first that, except in two places, Argentina at the turn of the 21st century and currently in German Bavaria (North, 2013b), AENs are ultimately of small scale, with few active members and limited economic impact. The conditions that contribute to the longevity of AENs include (among others): the managerial capabilities of local activists, the mechanisms that build commitment, the existence of a network that covers many kinds of needs while being easily accessible, the members' ability to understand how to use it and the credibility about its efficiency and effectiveness (North, 2006b(North, , 2007(North, , 2010.…”

Section: Alternative Exchange Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Gritzas

Kavoulakos

2016

European Urban and Regional Studies

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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.

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Section: Alternative Exchange Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Gritzas

Kavoulakos

2016

European Urban and Regional Studies

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“…Alternative economies may open up possibilities for material practices that differ from those available in capitalism, but they do face some limitations. North & Weber point out that despite efforts to foster local community‐led economies, the pressure from global markets is likely to persist, enhancing regional competition and hampering changes in consumption patterns (North & Weber, 2013, p. 54). On a different note, Krueger, Schulz, and Gibbs (2018) and Martin (2016) warn us that such degrowth perspectives risk creating a problem whilst attempting to solve a current one, pointing out that big players of platform or sharing economies (such as Uber, Airbnb or Freecycle) are co‐opting such discourses.…”

Section: Alternative Economies and Currencies As Commoning And Degrowth Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alternative economies, digital innovation and commoning in grassroots organisations: Analysing degrowth currencies in the Spanish region of Catalonia

Rasillo

2020

Env Pol Gov

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The wake of the 2008 financial crisis wrought economic havoc in Spain, resulting in the widespread protest of the indignados movement. Catalonia in particular saw a flourishing of various new forms of activism and socio‐economic collaboration, such as cooperative networks, eco‐villages and alternative currencies. This paper explores emerging forms of alternative currencies and commoning practices in Catalonia, Spain. It is based on ethnographic research to explore emergent grassroots innovations that theorise and practice degrowth proposals in diverse ways. In particular, it investigates developing forms of social currency and social debt, most of which are associated with the Catalan Integral Cooperative and FairCoop. This latter organisation is a network of cooperatives developing tools around Faircoin, a cryptocurrency based on social and ecological principles. In doing so, it contributes to alternative currencies scholarship. This paper shows how these self‐organised grassroots innovations are making use of technological and digital elements in order to build an alternative financial infrastructure. Furthermore, it demonstrates how these alternative social currencies and blockchain initiatives clearly show that non‐capitalist and degrowth oriented technological innovation can generate economies in more progressive and community‐led ways.

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“…A third generation of CCS came into being in 1991 in the USA with the Ithaca Hour, and spread across the USA in various guises such as BerkShares (Collom, ; Jacob et al., ; Krohn and Snyder, ; Maurer, ; North, ). In 2003 it got a ‘second wind’ with the Regiogeld experiment in Germany (Gelleri, ; Kennedy and Lietaer, ; North and Weber, ; Thiel, ; Volkmann, ) and with the emergence of community development banks in Brazil (Borges, ; Franca Filho et al., ; Melo et al., ; Meyer, ; Neiva et al., ). In the 2000s it appeared in the UK with the local currencies of the Transition Towns movement at Totnes (in 2006) and Lewes (in 2008), then at Stroud and Brixton in 2009, and Bristol in 2012 (Graugaard, ; Longhurst, ; North, ; Ryan‐Collins, ; Scott Cato and Suárez, ).…”

Section: Complementary Currency Systems: What Exactly Are They?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Complementary Currency Systems and their Ability to Support Economic and Social Changes

Fare¹,

Ahmed²

2017

Development and Change

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Complementary Currency Systems (CCS) are accounting systems that define local monetary spaces created by non-bank actors to pay for exchange of goods and services inside a trading network. This article aims to investigate the capability of complementary currency systems to foster social and economic changes. The authors use an analysis of the literature to examine the nature and diversity of CCS in terms of objectives, forms, modes of governance, and degrees of connection with political authorities and economic structures. They also assess the potential of CCS to support local economies based on social and environmental values, working to combat economic vulnerability and social exclusion, and examine how CCS challenge the conventional perception of money. The article ends by summarizing the challenges facing CCS, inquiring into the potential problems and benefits that a change of this sort could entail.The authors wish to warmly thank the anonymous referees for their comments, which have enriched and significantly improved the quality and content of this text.

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The Alternative Economy at the Regional Scale? Lessons From the Chiemgau

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

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

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

Alternative economies, digital innovation and commoning in grassroots organisations: Analysing degrowth currencies in the Spanish region of Catalonia

Complementary Currency Systems and their Ability to Support Economic and Social Changes

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