Political Consumerism and Producerism inTimes of Crisis. A Social Movement Perspective?


Abstract


Local alternative consumerism practices supported by organized citizens seem to provide the only way to save small agro producers from economic failure. At the same time, organized small producers provide incentives to new forms of co-production. By relying on semi-structured and in depth interviews, a focus group, document analysis and participant observation, in this article, we show how Tuscan Solidarity Purchase Groups, together with producers, act in the context of the economic crisis, and how the crisis has influenced them. First, we show how organized political consumers and small producers are intensifying their relations to overcome the threats of the crisis. Secondly, we illustrate how these consumer-producer relations concretize in a co-production experience. Our case study shows that, in the adverse context of the economic crisis, local alternative consumerism practices can develop alternative processes through civic food networks and (re)discover radical forms of food democracy. That is they build a local Sustainable Community Movement.

DOI Code: 10.1285/i20356609v10i1p246

Keywords: Sustainable Community Movement; Solidarity Purchase Groups; Crisis; Resilience; Political consumerism; Political producerism

References


Andretta, M. (2006), ‘Il consumerismo critico: mercato o politica?’, in Tosi, S. (ed.), Consumi e partecipazione politica, Milano; FrancoAngeli, pp. 133-159

Andretta, M. (2015), ‘Il Movimento 5 Stelle in Toscana: un movimento post- subculturale?’, in Biorcio, R. (ed.), Dal web al territorio. Gli attivisti del Movimento 5 Stelle, Milano: FrancoAngeli

Balsiger, P. (2010), ‘Making Political Consumers: The Tactical Action Repertoire of a Campaign for Clean Clothes’, Social Movement Studies, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 311-329

Balsinger, P, Lambelet, A. (2014), ‘Participant Observation’, in della Porta, D. (ed.), Methodological Practices in Social Movement Research, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Battiste, M., Henderson, J.Y. (2000), Protecting Indigenous Knowledge and Heritage: A Global Challenge, Saskatoon: Purich Publishing

Beck, U. (2000), What is Globalization, Oxford: Polity Press

Bellini, G., Lipizzi, F. (eds) (2013), 6° Censimento Generale dell’Agricoltura, Istituto Nazionale di Statistica, Roma

Boggs, C. (1977), ‘Marxism, Prefigurative Communism, and the Problem of Workers’ Control’, Radical America, Vol. 11, No. 6, pp. 99-122

Cappadozzi, T., Fonovic, K. (2016), ‘Le dimensioni delle attività volontarie. Caratteri salienti e profili dei volontari’, in Guidi, R.,

Cappadozzi, T., Fonovic, K. (eds.), Volontari e attività volontarie in Italia. Antecedenti, impatti, esplorazioni, Bologna: Il Mulino, pp.39-64

Coles, E., Buckle, P. (2004), ‘Developing community resilience as a foundation for effective disaster recovery’, The Australian Journal of Emergency Management, Vol. 19, pp. 6-15

della Porta, D., Andretta, M. (2002), ‘Policy Making and Changing Forms of Environmental Collective Action: the Case of High Speed Railway System in Tuscany’, Mobilization, Vol. 7, pp. 59-77

della Porta, D., Andretta, M., Mosca, L., Reiter, H. (2006), Globalization from Below. Transnational Activists and Protest Networks, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press

della Porta, D., Diani, M. (2006), Social Movements: An Introduction, Oxford: Blackwell

Diani, M., McAdam, D. (eds.) (2003), Social Movements and Networks: Relational Approaches to Collective Action, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Edelman, M. (2012), ‘Rural Social Movements’, in Amenta, E., Nash, K., Scott, A. (eds.), The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Political Sociology, Oxford: Blackwell

Ferrer-Fons, M. (2006), ‘Un’analisi comparativa del consumerismo politico in Europa: differenze nazionali e determinanti individuali’, in Tosi, S. (ed.), Consumi e partecipazione politica, Milano: FrancoAngeli, pp. 109-131

Ferrer-Fons, M., Fraile, M. (2014) ‘Political Consumerism and the Decline of Class Politics in Western Europe’, International Journal of Comparative Sociology, Vol. 54, No. 5-6, pp. 467-489

Floridia, A. (2010) ‘Le subculture politiche territoriali in Italia: epilogo o mutamento?’ in Baccetti, C. et al. (eds.) La politica e le radici, Torino: Liviana

Forno, F., Ceccarini, L. (2006), ‘From the Street to the Shops: The Rise of New Forms of Political Action in Italy’, South European Society and Politics, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp.197-222

Forno, F., Grasseni, C., Signori, S. (2015), ‘Italy’s solidarity purchase groups as ‘citizenship labs’’, in Huddart Kennedy, E., Cohen, M.J., Krogman, N. (eds.), Putting Sustainability into Practice: Advances and Applications of Social Practice Theories, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 67-88

Forno F., Graziano P. (2014), ‘Sustainable Community Movement Organisations’, Journal of Consumer Culture, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 139-157

Gill, S. (1995), ‘Globalisation, Market Civilisation, and Disciplinary Neoliberalism’, Millennium - Journal of International Studies, Vol. 24, pp. 399-423

Grasseni, C. (2013), Beyond Alternative Food Networks: Italy’s Solidarity Purchase Groups, London: Berg-Bloomsbury Academic

Grasseni, C. (2014), ‘Seeds of Trust. Italy’s Gruppi di Acquisto Solidale (Solidarity Purchase Groups)’, Journal of Political Ecology, Vol. 21, pp. 178-192

Graziano, P., Forno, F. (2012), ‘Political Consumerism and New Forms of Political Participation: The Gruppi di Acquisto Solidale in Italy’, Annals AAPSS, Vol. 644, pp. 121-133

Guidi, R, Andretta, M. (2015), ‘Between resistance and resilience: how do Italian solidarity purchase groups change in times of crisis and austerity?’, Partecipazione e Conflitto, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 443-477

Guidi, R., Bonetti, M., Popolla, M. (2016), ‘Differently Collective. Youth Activism in Italian University Associations’, Partecipazione e Conflitto, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 857-892

Hassanein, N. (2003) ‘Practicing food democracy: a pragmatic politics of transformation’, Journal of Rural Studies, Vol. 19, pp. 77-86

Kalogeraki, S., Alexandridis, S., Papadaki, M. (2014) ‘Exploring Social Support Actions as Alternative Forms of Resilience in a Greek Urban Community’, Paper presented at the ECPR General Conference, Glasgow

Kriesi, H. (1989), ‘The Political Opportunity Structure of the Dutch Peace Movement’, West European Politics, Vol. 12, pp. 295-312

Leonini, L., Sassatelli, R. (2008), Il consumo critico. Significati, pratiche, reti, Bari: Laterza

Magnaghi, A. (2000), Il progetto locale, Torino: Bollati Boringhieri

McCammon, H. J., Van Dyke, N. (2010), ‘Applying Qualitative Comparative Analysis to Empirical Studies of Social Movement Coalition Formation’, in Van Dyke N., McCammon, H. J. (eds.), Strategic Alliances. Coalition Building and Social Movements, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press

Micheletti, M. (2003), Political Virtue and Shopping. Individuals, Consumerism and Collective Action, London: Palgrave Macmillan

Micheletti, M., Follesdal, A., Stolle, D. (eds.) (2004), Politics, Products and Markets, London: Transaction Publishers

Norris, F., Stevens, S., Pfefferbaum, B., Wyche, K., Pfefferbaum, R. (2008) ‘Community Resilience as a Metaphor, Theory, Set of Capacities and Strategy for Disaster Readiness’, American Journal of Community Psychology, Vol. 41, pp. 127-150

Ostrom, E. (1990), Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Petrini, C. (2003), Slow Food: The Case for Taste, New York: Columbia University Press

Poli, D. (2014) ‘Da proprietà pubblica a bene comune: Mondeggi la fattoria senza padroni’, Eddyburg. It (On line Review of Society and Culture)

Powell, W. W., DiMaggio, P. J. (eds.) (1991), The new institutionalism in organizational analysis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press

Reese, E., Petit, C., Meyer, D.S. (2010), ‘Sudden Mobilization: Movement Crossovers, Threats, and the Surprising Rise of the U.S. Antiwar Movement’, in Van Dyke, N., McCammon, H. J. (eds.) Strategic Alliances: Coalition Building and Social Movements, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, pp. 266-291

Regione Toscana (2012), La Toscana al 6° censimento generale dell’agricoltura, Firenze

Renting, H., Marsden, T., Banks, J. (2003), ‘Understanding alternative food networks: exploring the role of short supply chains in rural development’, Environment and Planning A, Vol. 35, No. 3, pp. 393-411

Renting, H., Schermer, M., Rossi, A. (2012), ‘Building Food Democracy: Exploring Civic Food Networks and Newly Emerging Forms of Food Citizenship’, International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food, Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 289-307

Rosset, P.M., Martinez-Torres, M. E. (2012), Rural social movements and agroecology: context, theory, and process, in ‘Ecology and Society’, Vol. 17, No. 3, pp.17-29

Sassatelli, R. (2006) ‘Virtue, Responsibility and Consumer Choice. Framing Critical Consumerism’, in Brewer J., Trentmann, F. (eds.), Consuming Cultures. Global Perspectives, Oxford: Berg, pp. 219-250

Sevilla-Guzman, E., Martinez-Allier, J. (2006), ‘New rural social movements and agroecology’, in Cloke, P., Marsden, T., Mooney, P. (eds.), Handbook of Rural Studies, London: Sage

Snow, D.A., Rochford Jr, E. B., Worden, S. K., Benford, R.D. (1986), ‘Frame Alignment Processes, Micromobilization and Movement Participation’, in American Sociological Review, Vol. 51, No. 4, pp. 464-481

Stolle, D., Hooghe, D., Micheletti M. (2005) ‘Politics in the Supermarket. Political Consumerism as a Form of Political Participation’, International Political Sciences Review, Vol. 26, No. 3, pp. 245-269

Tarrow, S. (1994), Power in Movement: Collective Action, Social Movements and Politics, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press

Tilly, C. (1978), From Mobilization to Revolution, Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co.

van der Ploeg, J.D. (2008), The New Peasantries: Struggles for Autonomy and Sustainability in an Era of Empire and Globalization, London and Sterling: Earthscan

Woods, M. (2008), ‘Social movements and rural politics’, in Journal of Rural Studies, Vol. 24, No.2, pp.129-137.


Full Text: PDF

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 3.0 Italia License.