Commodification Discourse Research Articles

Spiritual Commodification Discourse of Kanda Pat in Bali Healing Tourism

The phenomenon of Kanda Pat's spiritual commodification in Bali tourism healing is an interesting thing to look at. On the one hand, Kanda Pat in Balinese society is still a local belief, but there is also a brand that is used as a modern spiritual healing brand. The purpose of this study is to reveal the occurrence of commodification, the form of commodification, and its implications. The approach used in this study is the study of culture with a theoretical foundation based on a critical paradigm. This study reveals the causal phenomena of spiritual commodification, namely commodification requires changes in merchandise of commodities through the packaging of spiritual elements with high image values. The form of spiritual commodification includes all forms of spiritual means and practices that are packaged in such a way as to be of economic value, and in particular in this study, the spiritual Kanda Pat. The implication of Kanda Pat's spiritual commodification is the strengthening of Kanda Pat's spiritual existence, spiritual healing service competition, reproduction of local spiritual discourse, and the trend of spirituality in Bali as an international tourist destination.

Can REDD+ still become a market? Ruptured dependencies and market logics for emission reductions in Brazil

During almost 20 years of political debate on the nature of Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES), these schemes have been characterized mostly as a non-market approach, even though attempts to transform them into market instruments has persistently recurred in these debates. One notable example is the materialization of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) in Brazil, where a sustainable development discourse dominates national forest governance at the expense of a carbon commodification discourse. This research paper adopts a Foucauldian approach to plot the epistemological foundations of the market logics that still influence REDD+ institutionalization in Brazil to a large extent and thereby reproduce what we define as a ruptured dependence on nature. More specifically, we recognize ruptured dependence in the three building blocks of market instruments, namely singularization, monetary valuation and appropriation. Our analysis shows that REDD+ institutions have retained the singularization and monetary valuation of emission reductions, even though the appropriation processes have rejected the possibility of exchange and instead emphasized the national ownership of emission reductions. However, appropriation remains a highly politicized process that is sensitive to criticism and open to calls for alternative approaches that are closer to ruptured dependence.

English and discourses of commodification among tourism workers in the Himalayas

In this article, I investigate commodification discourses and ideologies of English from the perspective of Nepali tourism workers. Drawing data from interviews with porters and trekking guides in Nepal, I argue that English is not seen as merely a transactional means to convey meaning; it works in combination with the traditional form of labor and care in the local economy, establishing itself as a powerful tool to establish closer interpersonal relationships, enhance such interpersonal relationships for economic gains and commodify local identities and cultures in the tourism market. The interview and ethnographic details show that language learners are agentive and capable of making sense of their actions by positioning themselves variously in terms of ethnicity, economic class and job category. These workers think that tourists' linguistic and financial resources are the empowering tools that enable them to travel to locations that they want. They also want to empower themselves with English skills and translocal imaginaries to travel and see the world beyond their immediate reach. Repertoires in English are considered as instruments to mediate their imaginaries and the foreign worlds they want to be part of.

KOMODIFIKASI BARONGSAI MENJAGA TRADISI MENEGOSIASI PASAR

After the fall of the Soeharto regime was like the fresh air for the ethnic Chinese in Indonesia inarticulating cultural identities, especially after the issuance of Presidential decree Number 6 of 2000which revoked Presidential Instruction Number 14 of 1967 on religion, beliefs, and customs of China.With that Presidential decree, Chinese people were free to celebrate the religious ceremony and customs,as well as featuring Barongsai (Lion Dance) in front of public. Consequently, Barongsai became popularand transformed into a cultural icon as well as “obligatory menu” for city event. Barongsai allegedlyunderwent commodification along with its popularity. However, that signal was responded byBarongsai activists as the consequence of efforts to survive and conquer the market. Through the mindsetof yin and yang, commodification discourse is abrogated and appropriated by Barongsai activists, socommodification is not just an effort to maintain and preserve the ancestral cultural heritage, identity,and cultural pride due to the accomplishments achieved

Pague e Peque: Uma Arqueologia do Discurso do Adultério Mercadorizado

Resumo Nos últimos anos, serviços de encontros extraconjugais começaram a ser ofertados na Internet. Inserido em um conjunto de representação cultural, o adultério, que, há muito, é tomado como elemento de diferentes discursos como ponto de articulação e controle social, é agora apresentado sob a lógica do consumo. Com base nisto, o presente estudo busca compreender como o discurso da mercadorização do adultério se alicerça nas práticas discursivas dos ofertantes de serviços de encontros extraconjugais. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa documental, realizada por meio do método arqueológico foucaultiano e interpretada à luz de sua teoria social, com dados coletados via Internet. Nossos achados apontam uma ordem do discurso que expõe uma estilística do adultério mercadorizado baseada numa estética moral que possibilita seu alinhamento à ética do consumo contemporâneo. A relevância do estudo para a academia e para a sociedade está no debate sobre o direcionamento de nossa cultura e vida orientada por uma estrutura econômica guiada pelo consumo.

The parallel materialization of REDD + implementation discourses in Brazil

The concept of Reducing Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) dominates international debates on the role of forests in climate change mitigation, but concrete implementation remains a challenge. In contrast to this general trend, Brazil emerged as a noteworthy exception due to the widespread implementation of major REDD+ initiatives. This research paper aims at understanding the implementation of REDD+ in Brazil from a discursive perspective. The analysis identifies two discourses that are guiding the implementation of REDD+ in different ways. On the one hand, advocates of a sustainable development discourse conceive REDD+ as a centralized mechanism to foster pre-existing deforestation control and sustainable economic activities through centralized mechanisms such as the Amazon Fund. On the other hand, a number of disconnected actors follow a carbon commodification discourse inspired by the idea of neoliberal conservation and create REDD+ projects to provide carbon offset to voluntary markets. The analysis of these discourses reveal that implementation processes do not rely on discursive convergence, but rather culminate in the parallel development and implementation of distinct REDD+ discourses that are at the same time competing, coexisting and collaborating on different levels.

The State and the Market - A Parable: On the State's Commodifying Effects

Commodification has become the central parameter in delineating the contours of the market and in the division of labor between the market and the state. The commodification critique has become a 'buzz word' against the market and thus in support of state intervention. In what has been termed trades - human organs, reproductive capacities, sexuality and the like - market-based orders have been condemned on the basis of commodification, thus leaving the floor open for state-intervention by regulation. The central argument of this article is that the commodificatory effects, often associated with monetary transactions, are not exclusive to monetized exchanges nor to the market arena. Rather, state intervention, as such, involves similar reductive effects, in light of its inherent itemizing, categorizing and ranking nature. This understanding has a significant implication for the structuring of the market-state debate: In light of the fact that upon closer scrutiny state ordering shares similar commodificatory effects with the market - we argue that it is not enough to raise the commodification banner in order to justify state intervention. Put differently, an implicit premise in the prevailing commodification discourse is that where the market commodifies, the state is necessarily neutral. However, state intervention - we will show - suffers from similar flaws. Another purpose of viewing commodification through the prism of state intervention is to expose the multi-faceted nature of the anti-commodificatory sentiment. Expanding the horizons of the commodification discourse beyond the traditional contexts of taboo markets to the unexplored terrain of state regulation exposes the fact that money is but one instance of a whole family of cases where thick social interactions are translated into a uni-dimensional currency that has a reductive effect on them.

Valuing families: Discourses of commodification and the family in the 1990s

Valuing families: Discourses of commodification and the family in the 1990s