A Commodified World? Mapping the Limits of Capitalism

by Williams, Colin C.

• ISBN13: 9781842773543
• ISBN10: 1842773542
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-05-20
• Publisher: ZED BOOKS

Summary

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.

Author Biography

Colin C. Williams is Professor of Work Organization and Director of the Collective for Alternative Organization Studies (CAOS) at the University of Leicester Management Centre (ULMC).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	xi
1 Introduction
Argument of the Book	7	(6)
PART I The Penetration of Commodification: A Critical Evaluation
2 The Commodification Thesis	13	(18)
An Implacable Economic Logic?	14	(9)
Where is the Evidence to Support the Commodification Thesis?	23	(6)
Conclusions	29	(2)
3 Subsistence Work	31	(17)
Subsistence Work in the Commodification Thesis	33	(5)
Measuring Subsistence Work	38	(3)
The Magnitude of Subsistence Work	41	(3)
The Changing Size of the Subsistence Sphere	44	(2)
Conclusions	46	(2)
4 Non-monetized Exchange	48	(15)
Non-monetized Exchange in the Commodification Thesis	50	(2)
Measuring Non-monetized Exchange	52	(2)
Magnitude of Non-monetized Exchange	54	(4)
Changing Size of the Non-monetized Realm	58	(2)
Conclusions	60	(3)
5 Not-for-Profit Monetized Exchange	63	(22)
Monetized Exchange in the Commodification Thesis	65	(2)
The State	67	(3)
The Not for-Profit Sector	70	(3)
Monetized Exchange in the 'Cash-in-Hand' Economy	73	(4)
Monetized Exchange in the Private Sector	77	(2)
Conclusions	79	(6)
PART II The Uneven Contours of Commodification
6 Socio-economic Disparities	85	(27)
Socio-economic Disparities in the Penetration of Commodified Work	88	(4)
Socio-economic Disparities in Subsistence Work	92	(6)
Socio-economic Disparities in Non-monetized Exchange	98	(7)
Socio-economic Disparities in Cash-in-Hand Work	105	(4)
Conclusions	109	(3)
7 The Uneven Geographies of Commodification	112	(23)
Examining the Uneven Geographies of Commodification	113	(4)
The Uneven Geographies of Commodification in Contemporary England	117	(2)
The Uneven Geographies of Subsistence Work	119	(3)
The Uneven Geographies of Non-monetized Exchange	122	(7)
The Uneven Geographies of Cash-in-Hand Work	129	(2)
Conclusions	131	(4)
8 Gender and Commodification	135	(19)
Gender Disparities in Formal Employment	136	(2)
Gender and the Commodification of Working Time	138	(1)
Gender Disparities in Subsistence Work	139	(3)
Gender Disparities in Non-monetized Exchange	142	(3)
Gender Disparities in Cash-in-Hand Work	145	(7)
Conclusions	152	(2)
9 Beyond the Advanced Economies	154	(29)
The Transition Economies	156	(10)
The Majority World	166	(12)
Conclusions	178	(5)
PART III Future Options and Their Implications to Towards a Commodified World	183	(94)
10 Towards a Commodified World: Inevitability or Choice?	185	(16)
Repressing Non-commodified Work	187	(3)
Critical Evaluation of the Repressive Approach	190	(10)
Conclusions	200	(1)
11 Doing Nothing	201	(15)
A Laissez-faire Approach towards Non-commodified Work	202	(8)
Disparities in Non-commodified Work	210	(4)
Conclusions	214	(2)
12 Fostering Plural Economies	216	(25)
Discourses on Cultivating Economic Pluralism	217	(11)
From Commodification to Full Engagement	228	(2)
Barriers to Engagement in Non-commodified Work	230	(9)
Conclusions	239	(2)
13 Cultivating Work beyond the Commodity Economy	241	(27)
Towards a Plural Economy, Not a Dual Society	241	(4)
Grassroots Initiatives to Foster Non-commodified Work	245	(11)
Top-down Initiatives to Cultivate Non-commodified Work	256	(10)
Conclusions	266	(2)
14 Conclusions	268	(9)
A Critical Evaluation of the Commodification Thesis	268	(3)
The Uneven Penetration of Commodification	271	(2)
Policy Options and Their Implications	273	(1)
Beyond a Commodified World	274	(3)
References	277	(24)
Index	301