ABSTRACT

A series of recent works have put forward a post-commodification understanding of the contemporary economy as based on one central economic form. While this approach allows us to conceptualize the transformation of the economy around one particular type of valuable, it also suffers from conceptual monoculture, risking to overlook the specific relationships between different forms. To grasp the complexities of contemporary capitalism, this article offers an analytical field guide for analysing the interdependent relationships of the most salient economic forms – commodities, assets, gifts and singularities – on three levels: (i) form, defining the boundaries of economic forms as socio-material configurations determined by their mode of exchange; (ii) formatting, denoting the process of turning something into a particular economic form through relational and boundary work; and (iii) formation, referring to the wider configuration of prerequisites and opportunities that allows economic things to take on their respective forms. We argue that rethinking economies as specific relational configurations of multiple economic forms allows for a sharper understanding of regional dynamics and politics.

摘要

最近的一系列著作提出了一种基于一种核心经济形式的对当代经济的后商品化理解。虽然这种方法使我们能够围绕一种特定类型的有价值的经济转型进行概念化，但它也受到概念单一文化的影响，有可能忽视不同形式之间的具体关系。为了掌握当代资本主义的复杂性，本文提供了一个分析领域指南，用于分析最显着的经济形式（商品、资产、礼物和奇点）之间的相互依存关系，分为三个层面：（i）形式，定义经济形式的边界作为由其交换方式决定的社会物质配置；(二)格式化，表示通过关系和边界工作将某物转变为特定经济形式的过程；(iii)形成，指使经济事物呈现各自形式的先决条件和机会的更广泛配置。我们认为，将经济重新思考为多种经济形式的特定关系配置，可以更清晰地理解区域动态和政治。