COMMODITIES, COMMONS, AND GIFTS:

THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE REPRODUCTION OF LIFE

Authors

  • Alejandro Aguilar Colegio de México

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22478/ufpb.2447-9837.2025.n19.72071

Abstract

Commodities, commons, and gifts are forms of relationships through which societies and communities organize the reproduction of life. This text seeks to present, within an integrative theoretical framework, certain forms of capitalist and non capitalist life reproduction. The discussion is approached from two levels of analysis: 1) modes of organizing collective action: cooperation, competition, and coercion; and 2) tensions expressed along two axes: a) integration, in which exchanges can be both differentiating and collectivizing, and b) relationality, in which exchanges can be either reciprocal or alienating. Based on the multiple combinations, each form of relationship acquires a certain specificity within the framework of a general theory. Commodities constitute alienating and differentiating exchanges that coordinate collective action primarily through competition. In contrast, both commons and gifts rely on different modes of cooperation grounded in reciprocity. However, the former represent collectivizing relationships, whereas the latter typically establish differentiated identities among those who take part in them.

KEYWORDS: Commodities. Commons. Gifts. Reproduction of Life

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Published

2025-11-19

How to Cite

Aguilar, A. (2025). COMMODITIES, COMMONS, AND GIFTS:: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE REPRODUCTION OF LIFE. Altera Journal of Anthropology, (19). https://doi.org/10.22478/ufpb.2447-9837.2025.n19.72071

Issue

Section

Dossiê Knowledge, Bodies and Territories in the Anthropocene