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A new perspective on the role of the market, and its future place in society.
Markets are apparently straightforward: they connect buyers to sellers. But their operation is complex, depending on places, things, networks and performances. Belief in markets is a cultural and political ideology. They are a means of governance in modern society, linked to individualistic self-responsibility.
But markets also have a darker side. Not everything should be for sale. Markets wield political power: they benefit those who already have resources, they impair collective action and they can be exploitative. As well as asking what markets are for, this book asks who they are for and what needs to change if they are to enable us to thrive in the 21st century.
‘Politically engaged and engagingly written, this book equips social scientists with the necessary tools for investigating and tinkering with markets.’ Paul Langley, Durham University
‘A compelling, lucid rethinking of markets as political, moral and material arrangements shaping who prospers and who does not. A must-read for all those interested in understanding how our economy works.’ Katy Mason, University of Salford
‘What Are Markets For? is a deceptively simple question that starts to unravel as soon as you pull at the strings that make markets and hold them together. This is what Philip Roscoe does in this lively and compelling book.’ Bill Maurer, University of California, Irvine
‘This book accomplishes an almost impossible feat: sketching the contours of an extremely complex entity – the market – in a highly accessible and entertaining manner.’ Susi Geiger, University College Dublin
1 Introduction
2 Markets are Networks
3 The End of History?
4 Meeting Santa and Making Markets
5 Markets and the Law
6 Histories of Accumulation
7 What Should not be for Sale?
8 The Drama of Markets
9 Crisis and the End of an Era
10 Civilizing Markets?