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I have been hesitating about posting these up because I have been working on combining and retheorising the two chapters mentioned in the preceding post which describe about the emergence of countercultural Totnes. No doubt these chapters are going to change a bit as well but as a PhD is a somewhat moving target here they are. If anyone strongly disagrees with what is suggested below it will still be very useful in the next iteration.

The PhD has a somewhat academic concern with ‘capitalism’ and whether it is possible to do ‘non-capitalist’ things at a grassroots levels. At its widest level, the PhD is seeking to explore the relationship between a countercultural place and postcapitalism. Generally the academic literature seems to point to a relationship between the two: postcapitalism emerges in countercultural places. These two chapter explores some of the issues relating to this debate.

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Chapter 7: Postcapitalist possibility

This chapter looks at some of the different ‘alternative’ (here termed post-capitalist) institutions that have developed within the area. Following on from a set of categories developed within the literature review, it argues that there are three areas where it could be argued that there has been some kind of significant postcapitalist economic activity.

1. A multi-dimensional ‘local’ organic food economy
2. A site of independent retail
3. A site of community economic experimentation

The arguments made under each of these sections are briefly outlined below.

1. A ‘local’ organic food economy

The chapter highlights a number of different facets to the local organic food economy. The first is that it is a site of retail. It is argued that this can directly be related to the milieu and in particular aspects of it such as the interest in Complementary and Alternative medicine. Thus this is a ‘locally embedded’ facet of the food economy. Riverford Organics dominates the production side of organic agriculture. Whilst there is evidence that aspects of the locality were important for the emergence of Riverford, it is argued that it has become successful by transcending the locality. For example, the geographical extensivity of its markets and its use of migrant labour. The area of the organic local food economy is small scale localized Community Supported Farming (CSF) schemes of which there are many examples. I argue that despite the strong local market and conducive cultural environment, most of these fail to provide a living for the participants.  The experiments themselves therefore use a variety of strategies to mitigate the uneconomic nature of their activities. Being based around Totnes does not therefore make these projects any more ‘economic’ and the ‘local’ food economy is perhaps more fragmented that it first appears.

2. The local independent retail sector

The fact that Totnes has been able to retain a retail centre based on independent business is partly down to historic factors. The local poverty of the 19^th Century meant that town centre was not rebuilt during the Victorian era. The assignation of a conservation area in the 1960s then protected the town centre from redevelopment, preserving a retail core of small premises. The uneven topography has also generally prevented the arrival of supermarkets or ‘big box’ stores until the 1990s.

The preservation of small shops in Totnes has seen it evolve into a specialist retail centre, a transition that has occurred roughly in parallel with its rise as a reputed centre of ‘alternative’ cultures. Indeed, there are numerous businesses that are associated with such cultures, including the food organic businesses.  However, interviews with some of the non-food businesses suggest that they are not sustained by the localized milieu but by non-local factors.  Thus Totnes’ is not simply a ‘local’ retail centre but sustained by specialised forms of tourism and consumption. Indeed, several of the businesses rely predominately on non-retail activity to sustain their businesses. Furthermore, the ‘gentrification’ of Totnes has made it increasingly difficult to sustain retail businesses within the town centre.

3. A site of community economic experimentation

The Totnes area has seen a number of community economic experiments take place. These include:

• TILT local loan fund
• Totnes Development Trust
• Housing Co-operatives and other forms of community housing
• Devonlane Credit Union
• Pioneering LETS systems
• The Totnes Pound currency

However in researching and reviewing the above it is argued that none of them have been able to make a significant economic contribution to the area. Therefore whilst the area has proved to be a site of significant experimentation none of the experiments have become economically significant. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the above in relation to ideas of ‘capitalism’ that were discussed earlier in the thesis.

Chapter 8: Space to experiment

The final chapter is the most theoretical and uses different strands of geographic theory to explore a central contradiction that appears to emerge from the research: the factors which make Totnes a good site for experimentation are also responsible for undermining the success of experiments.

It starts by looking at the different ‘spaces’ which have allowed experiments to take place, not just physical spaces but the social spaces created by networks and groups as well as the ‘space’ created in people’s heads and imaginations.

It then argues that there is an important role played by ‘insurgent architects’ or ‘social entrepreneurs’. They play a critical role in driving forward projects and initiatives and mobilizing groups of supporters. Using the example of one such entrepreneur (Andy Langford) it shows how they are able to exploit the space described above.

The chapter then explores some reasons why social and community experiments have not sustained in the area. One source of conflict is cultural. The fact that many of these practices are rooted in specific (counter)cultures can lead to them being rejected, particularly because such cultures are also associated with the impacts of in-migration to the area. Secondly, there is conflict between alternative cultures. Rather than a cohesive alternative culture there is a multiplicity of different ‘alternatives’ that perhaps prevents wider coalitions being built.  Thirdly, the research suggests that ‘ethical’ spaces are also highly conflictive, that once you bring questions of ethics to the forefront of discussion it creates disagreement.

Overall then, spaces where countercultural ideas can emerge may not be places where such ideas can also spread and build wider coalitions of support.

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