Publicação
Exchange networks and free shops in Berlin: gifts and commodities in alternative consumption experiences
| Resumo: | This paper is based on an ethnography of alternative consumption practices in the inner city of the former East Berlin. Non-monetary exchange networks (Tauschringe) and free shops (Umsonstläden) have been examined. In Umsonstläden, the contemporary ideology of the pure gift (Parry 1986; Carrier 1995) is at play: objects are freely given and totally alienated from their owners. In turn, Tauschringe sometimes induce gift-giving practices entailing mutual obligation, as a result of frequent exchanges which bring participants socially closer. The ethnographic material I present challenges the suitability of a conceptual gift/commodity divide to examine these experiences, provided that different modalities of gift-giving are articulated with commoditisation trends. Considering this complexity, I propose a re-examination of the role of the gift in alternative consumption practices promoted by social movements in Berlin. |
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| Autores principais: | Muriel,Irene Sabaté |
| Assunto: | economic anthropology gifts/commodities exchange networks free shops consumption social economy social movements Berlin |
| Ano: | 2009 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | artigo |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | SciELO Portugal |
| Resumo: | This paper is based on an ethnography of alternative consumption practices in the inner city of the former East Berlin. Non-monetary exchange networks (Tauschringe) and free shops (Umsonstläden) have been examined. In Umsonstläden, the contemporary ideology of the pure gift (Parry 1986; Carrier 1995) is at play: objects are freely given and totally alienated from their owners. In turn, Tauschringe sometimes induce gift-giving practices entailing mutual obligation, as a result of frequent exchanges which bring participants socially closer. The ethnographic material I present challenges the suitability of a conceptual gift/commodity divide to examine these experiences, provided that different modalities of gift-giving are articulated with commoditisation trends. Considering this complexity, I propose a re-examination of the role of the gift in alternative consumption practices promoted by social movements in Berlin. |
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