Jens Westerskov Andersen
Doctoral student
BEATING CAPITALISM? : THE GROCERY STORE CASE OF COMMUNITY ECONOMY TRANSITIONING IN THE DANISH SMALL ISLANDS
Author
Summary, in English
It has often been said that for an island community to maintain its habitability and even its “raison d’etre”, it must actively engage in preserving some few, but vital social functions; these function, such as local schools, grocery stores, or a community health center, were once naturally given but are today facing great challenges due to a changing economic basis.
While a lot of social functions have disappeared over the course of the past 20 years, grocery stores a still at large preserved in more than 20 out of 27 inhabited small islands in Denmark. Though all being challenged to some extend with a low rentability, local efforts have successfully managed to secure the grocery stores as a shopping location as well as a social institution where people can meet. This in fact, due to the active and persistent involvement by local actors, community association designed to that specific purpose, as well as extern funding from both the state and EU development programs.
The general trend is that a growing number of grocery stores have undergone from private enterprises to community owned – and in some cases even community driven – stores, thus pushing forward a transitioning of a formerly capitalistic economy (designed to produce profits) into a community-based economy (designed to provision services to the community). This mapping study, which is currently being conducted, gives a comparative look into the structures and level of community involvement in the grocery stores on 27 small islands in Denmark, researching how and why creative island solutions and local actions are seemingly – and not necessarily knowingly – beating the very fundamental principles of the capitalistic economy.
While a lot of social functions have disappeared over the course of the past 20 years, grocery stores a still at large preserved in more than 20 out of 27 inhabited small islands in Denmark. Though all being challenged to some extend with a low rentability, local efforts have successfully managed to secure the grocery stores as a shopping location as well as a social institution where people can meet. This in fact, due to the active and persistent involvement by local actors, community association designed to that specific purpose, as well as extern funding from both the state and EU development programs.
The general trend is that a growing number of grocery stores have undergone from private enterprises to community owned – and in some cases even community driven – stores, thus pushing forward a transitioning of a formerly capitalistic economy (designed to produce profits) into a community-based economy (designed to provision services to the community). This mapping study, which is currently being conducted, gives a comparative look into the structures and level of community involvement in the grocery stores on 27 small islands in Denmark, researching how and why creative island solutions and local actions are seemingly – and not necessarily knowingly – beating the very fundamental principles of the capitalistic economy.
Department/s
- Sociology
Publishing year
2022
Language
English
Document type
Conference paper: abstract
Topic
- Sociology
Keywords
- Small Islands
- Capitalism
- Island Solutions
- Rural economies
Conference name
SICRI' 16th International Conference on Small Island Cultures
Conference date
2022-06-22 - 2022-06-25
Conference place
Scalloway, United Kingdom
Status
Published