Globalization and the Logics of Capitalism

The chapter ‘Globalization and the Logics of Capitalism’ questions the role played by crowdfunding platforms in the processes of globalization. It focuses on the development of platforms in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and asks to what extent is the emergence of crowdfunding in these countries characterized by the replication of dominant Western logics or by hybridizations and unforeseen alternatives? This chapter contains three sections offering responses to this question. The first gives a brief survey of the categories of players present in the field of crowdfunding (particularly for cultural production), and their distinctive strategies and logics. The second provides a clearer understanding of the discourses propagated by the players involved in crowdfunding. The third section addresses a specific aspect of discourse and practice: efforts at ‘pedagogy’ and ‘education’ aimed at local populations. Concluding, the authors emphasise the overall significance of ‘grand discourses’ and ideological productions supporting the view that sees crowdfunding as an organic’ component of a creative/digital/collaborative economy that serves the empowerment of populations ‘naturally’ disposed to entrepreneurship. They also note the clear limits to the current emergence of clearly alternative models to those constructed according to Western norms.