Economic globalization from below

Abstract

Discussions on globalization tend to focus on processes commanded by powerful agents in a top-down perspective. In this article, I will explore “alter-native” economic processes and agents and a form of non-hegemonic globalization. “Trader-tourists” and street vendors of global gadgets, for instance, are but the tip of the iceberg, in a huge parallel global economy. Their activities are non-hegemonic because they defy the economic establishment everywhere. Grassroots economic globalization provides access to flows of global wealth that otherwise would not reach the more vulnerable ranks of any society. My reasoning is mainly based on Brazilian and Paraguayan examples, but there are evidences of the existence of a veritable popular world system.