Economic austerity is a one-size-fits-all system to effectively reduce public sector debt. Because of its inflexibility, social safety, and planetary survival are ignored in developmental processes. By ignoring these two measures of national development and well-being, economic austerity cuts formerly compatible ties between the economy and society. It creates its own system: neoliberalism. Social relationships and land – both of which essentially produce non-economic functions for society – are then subjected to commodifying attributes of a self-regulated market (Polanyi, (2005[1944]), p. 101). These now fictitious commodities raise the danger of societal downfall, but a subsequent process, known as the double movement, pushes for social protection against marketization through various aims of re-embedding the economy into society (Polanyi, (2005[1944]), p. 101). The transnationalism of social movements, participatory budgeting, and alimentary infrastructure strengthen such aims of reattaching compatible ties between the economy and society; however, these strengths unlock or are capable of unlocking alternative methods of economic accumulation efforts, thus reinforcing neoliberalism and limiting the possibility of fully achieving social and environmental justice.

First, the transnationalism of social movements strengthens efforts to re-embed the market into society. Transnationalism is the dispersal of affairs within or outside jurisdictional parameters of a nation-state (Encyclopedia Britannica). It is exemplified in European social advocates networking with Latin American labor movements to magnify lobbying efforts against the International Labor Organization (ILO), which is known for its inability to set standards on domestic work (Kim, 2021, p. 9). Amplifying lobbying efforts resulted in Convention 189 (C189), a universal composition of clauses to “ensure liberty to form unions, protection of work hours, and employer responsibility by informing workers of agreed terms and conditions of work” (Blofield and Jokela, 2018, p. 538).

Following the creation of C189, Ecuador granted full-time domestic work salaries equivalent to the general minimum income (Marchetti, 2018, p. 1195). This labor law removed the discourse that created a binary of domestic workers and employees. This binary, constructed by the ILO, characterized domestic workers and their labor as “invisible” (Blofield and Jokela, 2018, p. 533). In other words, domestic workers and their labor are irrelevant. Discourse has obscured labor relations by equating the domestic industry to irrelevance, thus granting household employers power to commodify wage and labor. For instance, Ecuadorian domestic workers previously earned a monthly wage of $50 and were excluded from further education and work opportunities (Marchetti, 2018, p.1195). Wage and labor are components of social relationships; as mentioned before, social relationships essentially produce non-economic functions for society (Polanyi, (2005[1944]), p. 101). Commodifying wage and labor weakens society through factors like social inequality, which is illustrated in the reinforcement of Ecuador’s gendered and ethnic segregation (Marchetti, 2018, p. 1195). Furthermore, this context reflects the detachment of the Ecuadorian market from Ecuadorian society. However, the aid of transnational ties with European advocates empowered the ratification of full-time domestic work salaries to regulate the market into society as a whole. Doing so brought visibility and ultimately, social equality to domestic workers.

On the contrary, the transnational ties with European advocates prompted other forms of maintaining neoliberalism that reinforces social inequality. One form is migration. To keep privileges provided by land and wage commodification, the Ecuadorian upper class hired more Peruvian and Colombian migrants. Hiring more migrant workers thus deprived native Ecuadorians of equal opportunities to work, forcing them to find employment in Italy and Spain (Marchetti, 2018, p. 1196). Moreover, Colombian and Peruvian migrants worked domestic labor under irregular conditions (Marchetti, 2018, p. 1196.) One possible explanation as to why is that migrant workers were unaccustomed to Ecuadorian labor laws, allowing the upper class to use information asymmetry to reuse monopolistic power to commodify labor and wage. By commodifying Peruvian and Colombian domestic laborers, the cycle of social inequality continues and thus maintains neoliberalism and economic austerity.

Second, participatory budgeting strengthens aims to re-embed the market into society.  According to Professor Jennifer Chun, participatory budgeting is the inclusion of citizens to directly and democratically decide funding priorities as part of a collective budgeting process (Chun, 2023). It is important to state that society is comprised of values centered on all economic, social, and environmental measures of development. With the inclusion of society in decision-making processes comes the inclusion of social safety and planetary survival, which were neglected by economic austerity. Through participatory budgeting, the Brazilian government and citizens redirected marketization by establishing investments in innovative projects: self-help urbanization programs, councils for oversight of public health clinics, and experiments with social service delivery (Baiocchi, 2017, p. 32). These funded innovations, along with others alike, granted the urban poor equal opportunities to achieve personal and social well-being. Even more important, these projects have encouraged the urban poor to offset years of political neglect and disinvestment from state-led development that can better support social values to market-led debt regimes, as addressed by Professor Jennifer Chun (Chun, 2023). By including all of society to redirect the market towards Brazilian values through innovative projects, participatory budgeting strengthens individual advocates of social change to re-embed the market into society.

On the contrary, participatory budgeting invites an alternative to preserve market-led development. Accepting social values and opinions, constantly inviting participants in decision-making processes, and delivering results in a timely, transparent manner help administrators reduce social barriers (Baiocchi, 2017, p. 32). Consequently, society becomes more trusting of the nation-state, granting administrators legitimacy. With legitimacy, they exploit the economy for political and personal gain. Members of the Workers’ Party, for example, introduced land-use taxes targeted at wealthier citizens that aid various participatory budgeting innovations (Baiocchi, 2017, p. 38). This effort reveals the commodification of wages, a symbol of purchasing power that was not produced at all (Polanyi, (2005[1944]), p. 101). By subjecting wages to commodification, members of the Workers’ Party profit themselves and reduce the financial ability of the wealthy to support society. Additionally, members of the Workers’ Party pursued clientelism, the exchange of monetary goods and services for political support (Encyclopedia Britannica). By pursuing clientelism, government officials can amplify neoliberals and their efforts, which undermine Brazilian democracy, social equality, and potentially environmental justice. Furthermore, participatory budgeting spheres center on already-established policies, neglecting systemic issues, such as transferring funds to alleviate public debt. (Baiocchi, 2017, p. 42). In short, participatory budgeting no longer acts as a strength for achieving social values and justice. Through the legitimacy it provides, participatory budgeting has now turned into a neoliberal strategy for Brazilian officials to achieve personal and political privileges.

Third, alimentary infrastructure strengthens aims to re-embed the market into society. In the United States, Native American communities created alimentary infrastructure, whose design is centered on natural resource sustainability. The Navajo Nation, for instance, created the Kayenta Solar Project, a large-scale solar farm that produces electricity for approximately 18,000 Navajo homes in Arizona. (La Duke and Cowen, 2020, pp. 255 - 256). Because the Kayenta Solar Project is a form of solar energy, it helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improves air quality for the Navajo people, and reduces water usage from energy production – all of which combat climate change and ensure environmental justice.

 Furthermore, more Indigenous communities have created solar farms and other energy infrastructures, which puts them as global pinnacles of sustainable energy. More importantly, these alimentary infrastructures grant Indigenous communities autonomy from colonial institutions, whose capital infrastructures commodified land by extracting natural resources for the market. Commodifying land, which is not produced by man, places society in danger as it takes away cultural protection and leaves society vulnerable to perversion, starvation, crime, and so forth (Polanyi, (2005[1944]), p. 101). This argument of Polanyi manifests in the premature death of Indigenous communities due to the negative impacts of capital infrastructure (La Duke and Cowen, 2020, p. 264). With the aid of alimentary infrastructure, however, Native Americans have formed political self-determinism. They created their cultural institutions with laws centered on the sacredness of land, which is exemplified in the Navajo Tribal Council’s passing of the first green economy legislation of a tribal government (La Duke and Cowen, 2020, p. 256). A green economy is an economic system that favors enhanced energy efficiency, reduced carbon emissions and pollution, and prevention of biodiversity loss (UN Environment Programme). By encouraging political self-determinism that established an economy based on environmental and ultimately societal good, alimentary infrastructure strengthens Native Americans and their environmental efforts to re-embed the market into Indigenous society.

A potential limitation of alimentary infrastructure lies in its attraction from neoliberal institutions that may use persuasive discourse to acquire economic accumulation. Some Native American communities have started collaborating with energy corporations and were welcomed by the federal government that declared a genuine commitment to reconciling relations with Indigenous people and to fighting climate change (La Duke and Cowen, 2020, p. 254). It is not explicitly mentioned that the federal government and energy corporations are inherently neoliberal, but the discourse shown resembles another discourse that aided the California State and its industries in maintaining economic accumulation.

In response to movements against environmental injustice and environmental racism, the state of Califonia and its industries have used discourse to withdraw themselves from being sole causes (Kim, 2023). Valero Oil Refinery, for instance, boasted about being green and having a high ranking in environmental performance (Kim, 2023). Additionally, the California Air Resources Board addressed the progress made in lowering the rate of air pollutants and recognized the high rise of childhood asthma (Kim, 2023). Emphasizing statements such as these displays the California State and its industries as supporters of environmental progress, solutions for climate change, and sympathizers to communities of color that have fallen victim to climate change. With these strategic illusions, California and industries carry on with bio-neglect, which in turn solidifies neoliberalism. If Indigenous communities continue to form relationships with energy corporations and US State governments, they may run the risk of monopolization through a discourse trap that promotes environmental support.

In conclusion, the transnationalism of social movements, participatory budgeting, and alimentary infrastructure strengthen various aims of reattaching compatible ties between the economy and society; however, these strengths unlock or are capable of unlocking alternative methods of economic accumulation efforts, thus reinforcing neoliberalism and limiting the possibility of fully achieving social and environmental justice. Although the transnationalism of social movements helped regulate the Ecuadorian economy in favor of social equality, it prompted the Ecuadorean upper class to target migration to maintain neoliberal privileges. Participatory budgeting also structured the market towards social equality through inclusion in decision-making processes; however, it offered legitimacy to Brazilian government officials to carry on with neoliberal efforts for personal and political support. Alimentary infrastructure encouraged political self-determinism for Native Americans in the United States, but it invites a possible danger of being monopolized by neoliberal institutions that use persuasive discourse.

It seems impossible to move beyond neoliberalism, which is most likely true on a global scale since the world is currently dominated by marketization. The world is also comprised of countless people with various, competing ideologies, and values for development. Nation-states however, have fewer people with competing ideologies and values. Local cities and communities have even fewer individuals with more homogenous ideologies and values for development. Basically, the less densely populated a self-governing entity is, the more homogeneity it has. With more homogeneity comes a stronger ability to break away from neoliberal ties. Ecuador and Brazil failed to completely break away from neoliberalism due to their having various societies – some of which prefer to maintain economic accumulation, which is exemplified in the targeting of migration and political weaponization of legitimacy. Indigenous communities, on the other hand, are comprised of Native Americans that have uniform values based on land sustainability. With uniform values embedded in alimentary infrastructure, Indigenous communities were able to break free from neoliberalism. There is no explicit information provided in this course that shows Indigenous communities reintegrated into neoliberal regimes. Thus, it is most likely for a local city or a self-governed community to move beyond neoliberalism than it is for nation-states and the world.

Damilare Oyebobola is a rising third-year undergraduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is majoring in International Development Studies and Minoring in Environmental Systems and Societies. Her main areas of focus are policy research, human rights, sociology, and community service.

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