Value Struggles - by Stefano Ponte (Hardcover)

About the Book

A theoretically ambitious, empirically rich interrogation of the notions of value at play in global value chains using the international wine industry as an exemplar

Book Synopsis

In this open access book, Stefano Ponte offers a theoretically ambitious, empirically rich interrogation of the value struggles at play in global value chains; using the wine industry as an exemplar, he provides a new and fundamental critique of contemporary capitalism and the inequalities it engenders.

There is no better product than wine to unmask some of the contradictions of contemporary capitalism. Wine is one of the most fragmented and diversified industries, and one that is not yet completely dominated by large corporate interests. It is also where all sorts of antagonisms against the power of capital are taking place.

Value Struggles shows how these tensions and contradictions play out over the valuation of place, nature and people. Through a detailed analysis of South African and Italian wine, it shows that predatory accumulation is about extracting value not only from labour, but also from place, nature and people's identities as owners of tangible and intangible assets. This book explains how power is exercised in contemporary capitalism, by whom, and with what consequences for producers, workers, and nature - both in the Global South and the Global North.

The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the Carlsberg Foundation and Independent Research Fund Denmark.

Review Quotes

"Value Struggles is a brilliant account of the ways in which tensions over the valorization of places, nature, and people intersect with power in the wine industry. Illustrated with examples from South Africa and Italy, Stefano Ponte's careful research uncovers the myriad ways in which capitalism's contradictions are reflected in a glass of wine." --Jennifer Clapp, University Professor & Canada Research Chair, University of Waterloo

"Stefano Ponte succeeds in the tour de force of making an elusive and almost ineffable question, the value of wine, the luminous revealer of contemporary capitalism. A lesson in state-of-the-art political economy, Value Struggles is informed by extensive field research. It opens up critical understandings of the exploitation of nature and people (by class, race and gender), and unpacks the complex relationship between humanity and its spatial anchoring. A grand cru." --Laurent Thévenot, Directeur d'études honoraire, School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS), Paris

"This outstanding monograph offers a well-developed conceptual tool to decipher capitalism's many contradictions and exploitative tendencies. With three decades of proper wine experience, Stefano Ponte takes us through the intricate contours of wine growing, marketing, and consumption across places, environments, and people. After reading this incredible book, your wine will never taste the same - much better and more reflexive of his 'worlds of valuation'!" --Henry Yeung, Choh-Ming Li Professor of Geography and Resource Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China

"With deep empirical insight and theoretical rigor, Value Struggles reveals how wine value chains expose the power asymmetries of contemporary capitalism. This book is a powerful examination of the moral and economic tensions at the heart of global capitalism. A must-read for anyone interested in inequality, sustainability, and the politics of taste." --Filippo Barbera, Professor of Economic Sociology, University of Torino and Fellow, Collegio Carlo Alberto

"This fascinating book examines wine from a holistic perspective. It combines analysis of the commercial dynamics of wine global value chains (focusing on South Africa and Italy) and the art of wine making. It investigates power imbalances across a range of stakeholders and explores how value struggles are shaped by place, nature and people. Value Struggles highlights class, race and gender - so often neglected or ignored in the literature - as central dimensions in how contradictory pressures and embedded inequalities play out across fragmented wine value chains. A highly recommended and insightful read." --Stephanie Barrientos, Emeritus Professor, Global Development Institute, University of Manchester

"If you're interested in the global economy of wine - how it is produced by people and nature, how value is unevenly captured among firms, how valuations of 'fine wines' are constructed, and the conflicts over each of these - then Value Struggles is for you. Stefano Ponte brings together years of careful research in Italy and South Africa to trace relations of race, class and gender in the reproduction of enduring inequalities in and through wine value chains, ultimately providing novel insights into how we think about capitalism." --Liam Campling, Professor of International Business and Development, Queen Mary University of London

"Stefano Ponte takes us on a captivating journey through the wine industries of Italy and South Africa. His spirited analysis reveals strikingly original insights into the environmental and social consequences of producing wine. Along the way, he deepens our understanding of how power struggles to produce, capture, and allocate value within modern capitalism impact people and the planet. This book is a tour de force." --Peter Dauvergne, Professor of International Relations, University of British Columbia

"In a world of climate change, inequality and economic uncertainty, rethinking capitalism has never been more urgent. Understanding global value chains - and unpacking the power dynamics and value struggles in and around them - is key to assess the potential and myths of sustainable development. Drawing on rich cases from Italy and South Africa, Stefano Ponte guides us through the fascinating world of wine with a critical eye, unveiling how value is created, appropriated and redistributed across different 'worlds of valuation.' Value Struggles is essential reading for scholars in political economy, economic geography and international business - and a treat for wine lovers!" --Valentina De Marchi, Associate Professor, Department of Society, Politics and Sustainability, ESADE, Ramon Llull University

"Value Struggles is a masterful and lucid exploration of the complexities of a paradoxical commodity. Stefano Ponte has distilled twenty years of fine-grained empirical research into an account of struggles around the creation, appropriation, and distribution of value in the production, retail and consumption of wine in two very different sites of global capitalism. His analysis bridges the global North and the global South in a coherent framework that links traditional value chain analysis with a nuanced account of the constitutive role played by the normative work of social value creation. A full bodied and nuanced analysis!" --Andries du Toit, Professor, School of Government, University of the Western Cape

"Industries are microcosms of global capitalism. In this ingeniously designed and highly readable book, Stefano Ponte uses his detailed field research on the wine industry in South African and Italy to offer intriguing insights into how power dynamics and value struggles jointly shape human-scale winners and losers in contemporary capitalism. Highly recommended for general readers and experts alike." --Gary Gereffi, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Duke University

"In Value Struggles, Stefano Ponte wrests value from the sidelines, situating it in its rightful place at the center of global value chain analysis. His conceptually expansive and empirically rich narration of value struggles over places, natures and people's lived experiences in the heterogenous world of wine leads directly to a pressing modern question: what do we value most? Value Struggles is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand and/or resist contemporary capitalism and the forms of power therein." --Elizabeth Havice, Bowman and Gordan Gray Distinguished Professor, Department of Geography and Environment, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

"Exploring the contradictions and crises endemic to capitalism through wine, Value Struggles expertly shows how the bitter taste of exploitation - of labour and nature - tarnishes this increasingly global and powerful industry. Empirically rich and theoretically sophisticated, like a vintage wine, this book comes highly recommended and will suit an number of palates." --Peter Newell, Professor of International Relations, University of Sussex

"In this book Stefano Ponte not only makes another major contribution to knowledge about the economics and politics of Global Value Chains. He does so by theorizing the 'value struggles' which structure both in an original and convincing way. Using robust and creative first-hand data, his analysis clearly demonstrates that the world is deeply structured by values and, moreover, can only be changed by tackling them head on." --Andy Smith, Directeur de recherche, Centre Emile Durkheim, Sciences Po Bordeaux

"Value Struggles is a fascinating and accessible read for scholars, practitioners and wine enthusiasts alike. It presents an impressively detailed contribution on how we understand value, and how our construction of what is valuable is created and sustained - a sobering reality check about the power dynamics, values and falsehoods that belie the glam in value chains like that for wine. Value Struggles compels us to (re)think how value and values interact to (re)produce stark inequities." --Thando Vilakazi, Associate Professor, School of Economics, University of Johannesburg

"Stefano Ponte provides a compelling and highly readable account of the power relations between capital, labour and nature. To read without moderation!" --Marion Demossier, Professor, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Southampton.

About the Author

Stefano Ponte is Professor of International Political Economy at Copenhagen Business School, Denmark, as well as Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Centre for Competition, Regulation, and Economic Development at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. His previous books include The Coffee Paradox: Global Markets, Commodity Trade and the Elusive Promise of Development (Zed, 2005, with Benoit Daviron); Trading Down: Africa, Value Chains, and the Global Economy (2005, with Peter Gibbon); Brand Aid: Shopping Well to Save the World (2011, with Lisa Ann Richey); and Business, Power, and Sustainability in a World of Global Value Chains (Zed, 2019).