ABSTRACT
Concepts of ‘the market’ stand in a difficult relation to those of ‘culture’. The problems are clearly reflected in economic theory where ‘the market’ denotes a set of abstract, formally rational relationships rather than concrete cultural forms of encounter: the hidden hand of market forces should not be affected by whether they are at work in an open market, shopping mall or global electronic futures market. This abstract, disembodied sense of the market is in marked contrast to the concretely spatio-temporal original meaning of ‘a market’: a physical place where buyers and sellers meet at particular times, a word for the actual ‘building, square, or other public place for such meetings’ (Chambers Dictionary). The market, in this older sense, is the town square on the first Saturday of each month, the floor of the Stock Exchange between 9.00 and 3.00 on weekdays.
