Today, the informal economy is crucial not only because the reproduction of economic production is (and has been for centuries) relying on it, but because the majority of the workforce works outside of formal employment. My central argument in the following is that the informal economy cannot be isolated from the global tendencies of the broader political-economic system(s) one could call postmodern capitalism. To approach an understanding of such capitalism, the notion “informal economy” is of decisive relevance, since it evinces that postmodern capitalism is less immaterial than identitarian, meaning that within it, coercion and consent unite as the “dull compulsion of economic relations” (Marx 2013, 765) and the trickling down of ideologies – which are both mediated first and foremost through hybrid markets. Thus, preferring a “capitalocentric” (Gibson-Graham and Cameron 2003, 152) “bias against markets” (Hart 1986, 649) over an idealisation of markets’ postmodern condition, I articulate a critique of postmodern capitalism and a problematisation of some of its theorists. In doing so, I demonstrate not only the importance of informality as a fact, but also as a notion especially for any critically engaged academia, including economic anthropology. After having clarified what may be understood as the informal economy, I will thus draw on ethnographies (with two in focus) to outline why informality is of prime relevance to critically grasp the contemporary world – within which micro- and macro-levels cannot be easily disassociated from each other.

Post-capitalism or post-modern capitalism? The formal-informal dialectics of contemporary labour

Lukas Meisner
2021-01-01

Abstract

Today, the informal economy is crucial not only because the reproduction of economic production is (and has been for centuries) relying on it, but because the majority of the workforce works outside of formal employment. My central argument in the following is that the informal economy cannot be isolated from the global tendencies of the broader political-economic system(s) one could call postmodern capitalism. To approach an understanding of such capitalism, the notion “informal economy” is of decisive relevance, since it evinces that postmodern capitalism is less immaterial than identitarian, meaning that within it, coercion and consent unite as the “dull compulsion of economic relations” (Marx 2013, 765) and the trickling down of ideologies – which are both mediated first and foremost through hybrid markets. Thus, preferring a “capitalocentric” (Gibson-Graham and Cameron 2003, 152) “bias against markets” (Hart 1986, 649) over an idealisation of markets’ postmodern condition, I articulate a critique of postmodern capitalism and a problematisation of some of its theorists. In doing so, I demonstrate not only the importance of informality as a fact, but also as a notion especially for any critically engaged academia, including economic anthropology. After having clarified what may be understood as the informal economy, I will thus draw on ethnographies (with two in focus) to outline why informality is of prime relevance to critically grasp the contemporary world – within which micro- and macro-levels cannot be easily disassociated from each other.
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Post-capitalism or post-modern capitalism The formal-informal dialectics of contemporary labour.pdf

accesso aperto

Descrizione: Article
Tipologia: Versione dell'editore
Licenza: Accesso gratuito (solo visione)
Dimensione 285.12 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
285.12 kB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in ARCA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10278/3754357
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus ND
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact