Between Commodities and Commons: A Polanyian Analysis of Commoning in the Context of Community Development Banks.
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| Title: | Between Commodities and Commons: A Polanyian Analysis of Commoning in the Context of Community Development Banks. |
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| Authors: | Icaza, Ana Mercedes Sarría1 (AUTHOR) sarria.icaza@ufrgs.br, Lacerda, Daniel S.2 (AUTHOR) d.lacerda@mbs-education.com, Meira, Fabio B.1 (AUTHOR) fabio.meira@ufrgs.br, Costa, Pedro de Almeida1 (AUTHOR) 00036233@ufrgs.br |
| Source: | Journal of Business Ethics. Apr2026, Vol. 205 Issue 1, p193-208. 16p. |
| Subject Terms: | Community development banks, Commons, Commodification, Economic sociology, Money & society, Social entrepreneurship |
| Abstract: | This study examines the extent to which Community Development Banks can challenge traditional market-driven commodification by promoting community-oriented commoning. The existing literature associates the experience of commoning in market society with a decoupling from commodification and presents commoning as inherently communitarian. This article draws on data from the case of community banks in the south of Brazil to demonstrate how commons can emerge from economic forms encompassing diverse institutions and exist alongside market exchange rather than being anchored solely in community. The organizations examined in this study were actively co-created with the participation of the authors as part of a project driven by critical performativity in disadvantaged Brazilian neighborhoods. Drawing on the work of Karl Polanyi, we show how the two domains—market-driven commodities and community-oriented commons—coexist within different modes of economic integration. We conclude that while these organizations facilitate the construction of alternative futures by reinforcing social institutions that are not contingent on the market, the implications of this should be considered with caution. The study contributes to the existing literature on commons by highlighting the complexity of economic motivations within coexisting institutions and by providing a compelling empirical example of how to methodologically engage with the Polanyian framework from a substantivist perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Abstract: | This study examines the extent to which Community Development Banks can challenge traditional market-driven commodification by promoting community-oriented commoning. The existing literature associates the experience of commoning in market society with a decoupling from commodification and presents commoning as inherently communitarian. This article draws on data from the case of community banks in the south of Brazil to demonstrate how commons can emerge from economic forms encompassing diverse institutions and exist alongside market exchange rather than being anchored solely in community. The organizations examined in this study were actively co-created with the participation of the authors as part of a project driven by critical performativity in disadvantaged Brazilian neighborhoods. Drawing on the work of Karl Polanyi, we show how the two domains—market-driven commodities and community-oriented commons—coexist within different modes of economic integration. We conclude that while these organizations facilitate the construction of alternative futures by reinforcing social institutions that are not contingent on the market, the implications of this should be considered with caution. The study contributes to the existing literature on commons by highlighting the complexity of economic motivations within coexisting institutions and by providing a compelling empirical example of how to methodologically engage with the Polanyian framework from a substantivist perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 01674544 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10551-025-06116-4 |
