El poder de la economía informal

Robert Neuwirth: El poder de la economía informal | Video on TED.com

I just want to end by saying that if Adam Smith had framed out a theory of the flea marketinstead of the free market, what would be some of the principles?

First, it would be to understand that it could be considered a cooperative, and this is a thought from the Brazilian legal scholar Roberto Mangabeira Unger. Cooperative development is a way forward.

Secondly, from the [Austrian] anarchist philosopher Paul Feyerabend, facts are relative, and what is a massive right of self-reliance to a Nigerian businessperson is considered unauthorized and horrible to other people, and we have to recognize that there are differences in how people define things and what their facts are.

And third is, and I'm taking this from the great American beat poet Allen Ginsberg, that alternate economies barter and different kinds of currency, alternate currencies are also very important, and he talked about buying what he needed just with his good looks.

And so I just want to leave you there, and say that this economy is a tremendous force for global development and we need to think about it that way.