Universität zu Köln

Widlok, Thomas ORCID: 0000-0002-4427-413X (2025). Upscaling a sharing approach. Anthropological Theory, 25 (2). pp. 128-155. Sage. ISSN 1463-4996

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Abstract

Parallels between person-to-person sharing and centrally institutionalized forms of redistribution have been noted repeatedly but also need to be assessed critically. When sharing is defined as the allocation of economic goods without calculating returns we may ask whether this also includes redistributive large-scale institutions such as forms of public pooling, crowd-based digital platforms or taxation. Can sharing be upscaled to institutional settings at larger scales or is it tied to intimate contexts of face-to-face interaction? This contribution discusses this question by giving particular attention to the way in which the presence of social agents is shaped in sharing and how it is altered when it is upscaled institutionally. On the basis of comparisons between ethnographic observations in small and large settings, processes of recognizing, mediating, virtualizing and temporalizing presence are identified. Finally, some lessons from research on sharing in intimate settings are being drawn for assessing the role that sharing may play to counter inequalities in larger institutional settings.

Item Type:	Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Widlok, Thomas UNSPECIFIED https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4427-413X UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-811687
Identification Number:	10.1177/14634996241303417
Journal or Publication Title:	Anthropological Theory
Volume:	25
Number:	2
Page Range:	pp. 128-155
Number of Pages:	28
Date:	3 June 2025
Publisher:	Sage
ISSN:	1463-4996
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Divisions:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Fächergruppe 4: Außereuropäische Sprachen, Kulturen und Gesellschaften > Institut für Afrikanistik und Ägyptologie
Subjects:	Social sciences Customs, etiquette, folklore
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language Sharing ; pooling ; taxation ; scale ; presence ; distance ; platform economy ; inequality ; institutions ; hunter–gatherers English
['eprint_fieldname_oa_funders' not defined]:	Publikationsfonds UzK
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/81168