A Polanyian Framework for Analyzing a Diverse Black-Market Economy in Cuba

Inspired by Carmen Diana Deere's work, we examine how planned economies, markets and communal economies interrelate to co-produce Cuba's agricultural economy. We show the variety of noncapitalist practices interrelated with and embedded in the black market and how these interactions produce diverse ethics. We build on a geographic interpretation of Karl Polanyi's substantive understanding of the economy and on geographic literature on the informal economy to offer a framework for analysing diversity within a black-market economy. Based on a case study of five agricultural cooperatives in a small rural village, we illustrate how, in Cuba, so-called ‘capitalist’ practices and profitmaking are interrelated with solidary, communal and political ethics. We conclude that understanding the heterogeneity in already existing economic relations is important for envisioning innovative economic models.