Competing Myths of Informal Economies

Abstract

Informal economies are sometimes mythologised as natural and productive while law is figured as oppressive. This commentary does not seek to contest the former myth, but argues that history can be used to construct another parallel myth of informal economies, one that sees law's character as more benign or even accommodating of informal actors and actions. By considering examples of whistle-blowing and crowd-sourcing, file-sharing, and collaborative production, we show the nature of legal institutions as less determined and more contingent on the role that law selects for itself.

Keywords: amateur media, copyright