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“Still good life”: On the value of reuse and distributive labor in “depleted” rural Maine

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  • Cindy Isenhour
  • Brieanne Berry

Abstract

This article explores the production of wealth through distributive labor in Maine's secondhand economy. While reuse is often associated with economic disadvantage, our research complicates that perspective. The labor required to reclaim, repair, redistribute, and reuse secondhand goods provides much more than a means of living in places left behind by international capitalism, but the value generated by this work is persistently discounted by dominant economic logics. On the basis of semistructured interviews, participant observation, and statewide surveys with reuse market participants in Maine, we find that the relational value of reuse, produced through caring, flexible, distributive labor, is especially significant. We argue that paying attention to the practices, politics, and value of distribution is critical for understanding wealth in communities perceived to have been left behind by global capitalist systems, particularly as wage labor opportunities and natural resources grow increasingly scarce.

Suggested Citation

  • Cindy Isenhour & Brieanne Berry, 2020. "“Still good life”: On the value of reuse and distributive labor in “depleted” rural Maine," Economic Anthropology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 7(2), pages 293-308, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecanth:v:7:y:2020:i:2:p:293-308
    DOI: 10.1002/sea2.12176
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sarah Hitchner & John Schelhas & J. Peter Brosius, 2017. "“Even our Dairy Queen shut down”: Risk and resilience in bioenergy development in forest-dependent communities in the US South," Economic Anthropology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 4(2), pages 186-199, June.
    2. James M. Acheson & Ann W. Acheson, 2016. "Offshore wind power development in Maine: A rational choice perspective," Economic Anthropology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 3(1), pages 161-173, January.
    3. Harvey Johnstone & Doug Lionais, 2004. "Depleted communities and community business entrepreneurship: revaluing space through place," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(3), pages 217-233, May.
    4. Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, 2015. "The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 10581.
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