From head shops to whole foods : the rise and fall of activist entrepreneurs / Joshua Clark Davis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Davis, Joshua Clark, author.

Series:

Columbia studies in the history of U.S. capitalism

Columbia Studies in the History of U.S. Capitalism

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Business enterprises--Political aspects--United States--History.

Business enterprises.

Small business--Political aspects--United States--History.

Small business.

Entrepreneurship--Political aspects--United States--History.

Entrepreneurship.

Social movements--Economic aspects--United States--History.

Social movements.

Business and politics--United States--History.

Business and politics.

History.

Business enterprises--Political aspects.

United States.

Physical Description:

xiv, 314 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : Columbia University Press, [2017]

Summary:

In the 1960s and '70s, a diverse range of storefronts-including head shops, African American bookstores, feminist businesses, and organic grocers-brought the work of the New Left, Black Power, feminism, environmentalism, and other social movements into the marketplace. Through shared ownership, limited growth, and workplace democracy, these "activist entrepreneurs" offered alternatives to conventional profit-driven corporate business models. By the middle of the 1970s, thousands of these enterprises operated across the United States-but only a handful survive today. Some, like Whole Foods Market, have abandoned their quest for collective political change in favor of maximizing profits. Vividly portraying the struggles, successes, and sacrifices made by these unlikely entrepreneurs, Clark Davis writes a new history of movements and capitalism by showing how activists embraced small businesses in a way few historians have considered. The book rethinks the widespread idea that the work of activism and political dissent is inherently antithetical to business and market activity. It uncovers the historical roots of contemporary interest in ethical consumption, social enterprise, mission-driven businesses, and buying local while also showing how today's companies have adopted the language-but not often the mission-of liberation and social change.

Contents:

Introduction

Activist business: origins and ideologies

Liberation through literacy: African American bookstores, Black Power, and the mainstreaming of black books

The business of getting high: head shops, countercultural capitalism, and the battle over marijuana

The "feminist economic revolution": businesses in the women's movement

Natural foods stores: environmental entrepreneurs and the perils of growth

Perseverance and appropriation: activist business in the twenty-first century

Conclusion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Davis, Joshua Clark. From headshops to whole foods.

ISBN:

9780231171588

0231171587

OCLC:

974794470