Making money matter

Abstract

Bound within a critique of current economic ideologies, primarily what has become known as development economics, this study explores the theoretical underpinnings of alternative currenty thorugh the instrumental case study of the Doole system in Yoff, Senegal. By capturing what the experience has meant for the women engaged in the Doole project and identifying the replicable elements this piece establishes that the existence of an alternative currency system and its control by the users themselves has the promise to realize profound opportunites - mainly the support of a knowledge system and economis model that reflects the uniqueness of place while valuing human experience and the quality of community. The analysis stresses the current crisis of advanced, global capitalism and asseses critically the normalizing ideology which promotes anonymity and debt as the only opportunity for national economic gain. Rather than adding to the vast and compelling anti-globalization literature, this piece contributes to a small collection of writing by a combination of theorists, community organizers, and academics considering communities tacking action to add meaning to the exchanges within their lives.

Disciplines

Economics | Politics and Social Change

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