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neversparks  ·  4345 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Thoughts on Capitalism

Could you perhaps explain some of those economic systems you posted? I did some research and I'm not sure what I found makes sense. Here's the gist of what I found for each one:

--Substantivist Economic Theory-- What I've read seems to suggest that substantivism only provides a new definition for economics. The previous definition of economics could only apply to market economies, and substantivism modifies the definition so it can apply to non-market economies as well. It seems to be less of an economic system and more of a lens that we can view economic systems through.

--Reciprocitic Economies-- These economies are characterized by the exchange of goods and services without keeping track of their exact value with the expectation that it'll balance out in the end.

--Gift Economies-- Where goods and services are given away with no promise of immediate or future rewards or gains. An example of this would be among communities that develop open-source software.

--The Polatch-- A gift-giving festival celebrated by the the indigenous people of the Northwest Pacific Coast based on a gift economy (I think?). The idea is to redistribute wealth.

--The Vertical Archipelago-- To understand this, it's important to note that the Andean environment varies greatly in altitude within very short distances. So imagine it as being a series of steps or levels with specific resources in each, all of which are rather close to each other. This refers to the process where some people in one step or level will live in another step or level to trade with each other, allowing for everyone to have access to a bit of everything. Essentially, it's a method created to overcome the difficult terrain of the region. This isn't a non-market economy, but rather the organization of an economy. Furthermore, there is evidence of currency in Andean civilizations.

--Syndicalism-- An economic system that emphasizes the use of trade and industrial unions to organize the economy, rather than businesses. So instead of having one business compete against another business, in say, the development of a certain drug delivery mechanism, we'd see a union in which scientists and engineers work together to find the solution. It focuses on cooperation rather than competition. I think this is also still a market economy. It's sort of a reorganization of how we currently run our economy, but it still contains the principles of supply and demand, currency, etc.

I don't know if you know much about the links you posted, since it was just a quick browse through Wikipedia, but if you could elaborate on what you meant about substantivism, the potlatch, and the vertical archipelago being economic systems, I'd appreciate it. Also, I disagree with your idea that we can learn something from these. Reciprocitic economies and gift economies are the only real non-market economic systems that I think you've provided, and it's quite obvious how such economies can be taken advantage of. These economic systems have been seen working only in very small scales, and would be undoubtedly exploited by a large part of the population in larger economies if implemented.