| Title |
Situating the West African System of Collectivity: A Study of Susu Institutions in Ghana's Urban Centers |
| ID_Doc |
66708 |
| Authors |
Hossein, CS; Bonsu, SK |
| Title |
Situating the West African System of Collectivity: A Study of Susu Institutions in Ghana's Urban Centers |
| Year |
2023 |
| Published |
Rethinking Marxism-A Journal Of Economics Culture & Society, 35, 1 |
| DOI |
10.1080/08935696.2022.2159744 |
| Abstract |
West African informal collective institutions have much to offer the study of international development. Susu is the local name for a cooperative system involving rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs) practiced by millions of people. This essay argues that the Ghana susu are community economies, drawing on J. K. Gibson-Graham's theory of community economies and its ethical principles for amplifying well-being, conducting ethical business, encountering others, and the joyful commoning of goods. The essay's primary research was carried out in a community with forty-six susu members, through focus-group discussions and individual interviews in Accra, Tema, Cape Coast, and Kumasi. By acknowledging the susu system, the essay advances ideas of equity and highlights the African contribution to a sustainable economic model. The Ghana susu have a long-standing history of solidarity economics rooted in mutual aid, self-sufficiency, and the collective, and this history should be noted as a powerful antidote to neoliberal development. |
| Author Keywords |
Alternative Economy; Community Economies; Development; J; K; Gibson-Graham; ROSCA; Susu |
| Index Keywords |
Index Keywords |
| Document Type |
Other |
| Open Access |
Open Access |
| Source |
Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) |
| EID |
WOS:000983392700008 |
| WoS Category |
Political Science |
| Research Area |
Government & Law |
| PDF |
https://doi.org/10.1080/08935696.2022.2159744
|