A Commodified World?: Mapping the Limits of Capitalism

This book critiques the notion that in Late Capitalism all economic relations become always ever more commodified, while non-capitalist activities disappear. It demonstrates that a combination of new cultures of resistance all constrain this tendency or even threaten to reverse it. Colin Williams finds that, even in the advanced economies, a non-commodified realm persists that is as large as the commodified sphere and growing relative to it. He draws on extensive empirical evidence of trends and new patterns of economic activity - including changes in women's participation, differences between wealthy and poor urban areas, and between urban and rural sectors. He explores non-commodified practices of resistance. And he concludes that governments and communities, by de-coupling production and consumption from the commodified realm, could open up alternative development paths.