Paradoxes of indigeneity: identity, the state, and the economy in Indonesia

Contributing to recent debates on indigeneity, this article investigates contradictions of indigeneity, especially the “indigenous paradox,” that is, the formation of indigeneity through claiming sovereignty and autonomy from the state by acknowledging the very state and its laws as the framework for those claims, in the context of Indonesia. After analyzing how indigeneity came into existence in the Indonesian context, this article sheds light on the process of indigenous recognition in the Duri highlands, South Sulawesi. It is argued that the contradictions of indigeneity concern not only indigenous—state relations, but also narratives on tradition and history, and most of all, economic contradictions. It is the recognition of the overall framework of capitalism and the state which makes possible the emergence of alternative local economies based upon solidarity. Drawing on Louis Althusser’s concept of overdetermination, this article suggests that indigeneity shapes the way how economic contradictions are expressed, and while it provides local spaces for alternative economies, indigeneity is also prone to being incorporated into the logics of capitalism.

Post-Growth Geographies

Post-Growth Geographies examines the spatial relations of diverse and alternative economies between growth-oriented institutions and multiple socio-ecological crises. The book brings together conceptual and empirical contributions from geography and its neighbouring disciplines and offers different perspectives on the possibilities, demands and critiques of post-growth transformation. Through case studies and interviews, the contributions combine voices from activism, civil society, planning and politics with current theoretical debates on socio-ecological transformation.

Re-energizing Japan's teikei movement: Understanding intergenerational transitions of diverse economies

In the 1960s-70s, Japan’s teikei movement, also referred to as Japanese community supported agriculture (CSA), emerged as a response to a period marred with multiple food scandals and environmental injustices and resulted in direct partnerships between consumers and organic farmers. Although this movement peaked in the 1990s just as the concept of alternative food networks (AFNs) gained popularity in western countries, little is known about what has happened to teikei today. This paper analyzes how teikei exemplifies diverse economies and explores how the possibilities of noncapitalist economic practice currently exist compared to the founding movement principles. Through case studies of two teikei groups in the Kansai region of Japan that transitioned their leadership to younger generations, I assess how changes made by current generations allow teikei to adapt to challenges that have long plagued the movement, such as the decline of volunteer labor provided by housewives. Drawing on a diverse economies approach, I argue that, despite current members’ detachment from strong activist identities, they sustain their organizations through part-time work, community building, and institutionalizing volunteer labor. The successes and struggles of current teikei groups provide insight into how AFNs seeking to build alternative economies can overcome difficulties that emerge from actualizing diverse economies.

Regional Investigation for Economies of Development Status on Changes in Export Structure of Deterioration Terms of Trade

The theory of Deterioration Terms of Trade states that the terms of trade between primary commodities and manufactures have a negative deterministic trend. However, the terms of trade for primary commodities have improved significantly because of higher prices of raw materials and natural resources due to the rapid development of some emerging developing countries. Literatures argued that the deterioration in terms of trade is the type of country in which the goods are exported rather than the types of goods exported by such countries are primary or manufactured goods. This paper employs regression models of alternative economies to analyze the correlation between terms of trade and manufactured goods export ratio. Results demonstrated that the Prebisch-Singer Hypothesis holds for all the economies except the developed ones, and the ITTs are worsened by increases in the proportion of manufactured goods for all the economies.

CUBAN URBAN AGRICULTURE AND THE CHALLENGES TO ORTHODOX WESTERN ECONOMIC DISCORSE

The orthodox way in which economics is studied and implemented follows a primarily European concept of the functioning of economies that is then applied to the various different traditions and cultures that exist all around the world. This paper explores alternative economies and alternative ways of theorizing the economy in order to destabilize the western, orthodox conception of economics. In order to accomplish this, this paper explores Cuban Urban Agriculture, a system where unused land in urban areas is re-appropriated to grow a variety of crops for the local community. Specifically, it explores the ways in which this system views its economic actors, to what extent it applies an abstracted mode of production over various contexts, and how it incorporates culture and the non-economic as key elements. By examining these facets of the Cuban urban agricultural system, this paper sheds light on the hybridity of this system, in viewing workers as both rational profit maximizers and complex subjects with ambivalent desires, in imposing a decontextualized set of objectives for agriculture across Cuba, while leaving space for adaptation to the context within this narrow set, and in embedding this economic system in the local community. Thus, the paper demonstrates, in showing that the Cuban urban agricultural system is only able to partially separate itself from the orthodox western discourse of economics, that while it is possible to find alternatives to this system of economics, even these alternatives tend to adhere to at least some of its principles.