ABSTRACT
Within capitalist market economies, access to the world of consumption is open to those members of society who possess the means to purchase goods and services. In the two cases analyzed so far – green automobility and Slow Food – the material goods and services were obtained primarily through market exchange. Even after the initial car purchase, driving practices commit drivers to a series of marketed services and supplies that enable the driving experience to continue into the future. Drivers can also purchase optional equipment – like Global Positioning Systems (GPS) – that can alter the quality of human-machine interaction and driving practices. In the case of the Slow Food movement, participants attempt to re-work the processes of globalization in order to preserve local agriculture and culinary heritage by expanding the geographic market for endangered foods, venerable recipes and threatened cuisines. Here, the market implies capitalist, profitcentered market exchange. However, the spaces of consumption are not co-extant with the capitalist market nor are consumption practices always mediated through this form of market exchange. The spaces that lie outside of the main currents of the capitalist economy are the focus of this final case study. In particular, the participation of economic agents in the local currency movement is examined for its role in facilitating and constituting a set of alternative consumption practices.
