Social money in the Social and Solidarity Economy: beyond the reciprocity, understanding the concrete practices in light of the case of "La Bellota"

Abstract

This article is based on an ethnographic work on the so-called "social currencies", namely, those monies only used in certain practices and restricted social circuits that have multiplied in recent years, and in particular, the experience of "La Bellota", the exchange community created in the city of Guadalajara. The submitted ethnographic material issues a challenge to the treatment carried out on these practices within the framework of the Social and Solidarity Economy, specifically, with regard to the type of social relations that underpins the exchanges in these circuits. To do this, a re-examination of a key concept to Anthropology is proposed, the notion of 'reciprocity', very underlined in the alternative economic models that promote these experiences, whose applicability is questionable for the analysis of them.