Theorizing the “Third Sphere”: A Critique of the Persistence of the “Economistic Fallacy”
Author(s)
Adaman, Fikret; Madra, Yahva M.
Abstract
This is a methodological essay on the different ways of theorizing the set of activities that can be captured by neither the price mechanism of the markets nor by governmental transactions. As did Arjo Klamer and Peter-Wim Zuidhof (1998), we adopt the term third sphere when referring to this set of activities, one that includes, inter alia, voluntary contributions to charities, services donated to self-help organizations, gifts and counter-gifts, inheritance, domestic work, childcare, and intra-community support networks. In terms of the amount of the value added circulated through them, these activities and contributions collectively carry enormous weight in contemporary societies.
