Collective viewings of value(s) and the struggle for what is valuable: The case of grassroots initiatives

The article discusses the grassroots approaches to value(s) and valuing(s) as encountered in several schemes which exist in Greece over the last few years and whose members perform transactions without the use of any official currency. The main scope of the article is to explore the theoretical issues that emerge from the grassroots practices and analyse ways by which those practices challenge or even defy the dominant economic structures, perceptions and theories about value. Given that the theoretical issues emerge from field research and findings, empirical data on ethnographic nature are used to contribute to the discussion and place the questions within their historical and practical contexts. The variety of practices itself informs the theoretical debate about the multiple ways people might think of and use ideas about value in their economic activity.