Cultivating community economies: tools for building a liveable world

One chapter allowed - 18mth embargoAmid the failure of traditional politics and policies to address our fundamental challenges, an increasing number of thoughtful proposals and real-world models suggest new possibilities, this book convenes an essential conversation about ..

Postcapitalism

Development and capitalism are deeply intertwined. Mainstream development thinking is founded on the idea that linear models of progress describe how societies develop, and that classifications of nations into ‘developed’, ‘developing’ and ‘under-developed’ are simply reflections of empirical reality. Capitalist core regions, industries and organi- zations are similarly treated as the proverbial gold standard for whatever ’development’ stands for: the pathway towards prosperity has been seen to rest with a capitalist articulation of productivity and efficiency, with a focus on mobilizing resources and attaining economic growth by adhering strictly to market forces. The capitalist model has often been assumed to be universal, ubiquitous and inevitable

Cultivating community economies : tools for building a livable world

A model of “community economies” is arising from a feminist critique of political economy that rejects its features of dominance and subordination. This model is an ongoing process of negotiating our interdependence based on six coordinates: survival, surplus, transactions, consumption, commons, and investment. One set of emerging strategies activates a politics of language to describe economic diversity and make current ethical economic practices visible. A second set broadens the horizon of economic politics so that ethical economic practices might multiply. More than a dozen projects in various parts of the world illustrate how these collective actions work in practice

Postcapitalist precarious work and those in the ‘drivers’ seat: Exploring the motivations and lived experiences of Uber drivers in Canada

This paper was accepted for publication in the journal Organization and the definitive published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1177/1350508418757332In this inductive, qualitative study, we observe how Uber, a company often hailed as being the poster-child of the sharing economy facilitated through a digital platform may also at times represent and reinforce postcapitalist hyper-exploitation. Drawing on the motivations and lived experiences of 31 Uber drivers in Toronto, Canada, we provide insights into three groups of Uber drivers: (1) those that are driving part-time to earn extra money in conjunction with studying or doing other jobs; (2) those that are unemployed and for whom driving for Uber is the only source of income; (3) professional drivers, who are trying to keep pace with the durable digital landscape and competitive marketplace. We emphasize the ways in which each driver group simultaneously acknowledges and rejects their own precarious employment by distancing techniques such as minimizing the risks and accentuating the advantages of the driver role. We relate these findings to a broader discussion about how driving for Uber fuels the traditional capitalist narrative that working hard and having a dream will lead to advancement, security and success. We conclude by discussing other alternative economies within the sharing economy