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Decommodification and Egalitarian Political Economy

Author

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  • John Vail

    (Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, J.J.Vail@ncl.ac.uk)

Abstract

This article contends that decommodification is an appropriate concept for understanding diverse initiatives such as fair trade, microfinance, open source, social enterprises, and the environmental commons as component features of a common process. Decommodification is conceived as any political, social, or cultural process that reduces the scope and influence of the market in everyday life. Given recent transformations in market societies, a more expansive framework for decommodification is urgently required. Decommodification would insulate non-market spheres from market encroachments; increase the provision of public goods and expand social protection; promote democratic control over the market by creating economic circuits grounded in a logic predicated on social needs rather than profit; and undermine market hegemony by revealing the market’s true social costs and consequences. By ensuring basic needs, enhancing individual capacities and capabilities, and promoting social cooperation and collaboration, decommodification constitutes a central feature of an egalitarian agenda.

Suggested Citation

  • John Vail, 2010. "Decommodification and Egalitarian Political Economy," Politics & Society, , vol. 38(3), pages 310-346, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:polsoc:v:38:y:2010:i:3:p:310-346
    DOI: 10.1177/0032329210373069
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Richard Locke & Matthew Amengual & Akshay Mangla, 2009. "Virtue out of Necessity? Compliance, Commitment, and the Improvement of Labor Conditions in Global Supply Chains," Politics & Society, , vol. 37(3), pages 319-351, September.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Mark Tilzey, 2019. "Food Democracy as ‘Radical’ Food Sovereignty: Agrarian Democracy and Counter-Hegemonic Resistance to the Neo-Imperial Food Regime," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(4), pages 202-213.
    3. Georgios Kyroglou & Matt Henn, 2017. "Political Consumerism as a Neoliberal Response to Youth Political Disengagement," Societies, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-16, December.

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