Scaling up alternatives to capitalism: A social movement approach to alternative organizing (in) the economy

Simone Schiller-Merkens

No 20/11, MPIfG Discussion Paper from Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies

Abstract: In these times of crises, capitalism and the far-reaching marketization of our societies has again become a subject of contestation and critique. Alternative organizing is one response to the critique of capitalism. As an embodied and constructive form of critique it takes place in prefigurative organizations and communities on the ground that experiment with alternative forms of organizing economic exchanges and lives. These prefigurative initiatives are seen as central actors in a social transformation toward an alternative economy. However, they oftentimes remain autonomous and disconnected, questioning their potential to contribute to a broader social change. This paper sets out to explore how and when alternative organizing as practiced in communities and organizations can scale upwards to lead to a more profound social transformation of our societies. Building on insights from scholarship on social movement outcomes, I discuss the collective actions, contextual conditions, and social mechanisms that are likely to allow an upward scale shift of alternative organizing.

Keywords: alternative organizing; critique of capitalism; diffusion; movement outcome; postcapitalism; prefiguration; scale shift; social movement studies; social transformation; alternative Organisationsformen; Bewegungsforschung; Diffusion; Kapitalismuskritik; Postkapitalismus; Präfiguration; scale shift; soziale Transformation; Wirkungen sozialer Bewegungen (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cdm, nep-hme and nep-pke
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