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AbstractThis article describes the distinctive features and structural properties of 'moralized markets', that is, markets in which producers set higher moral standards than those governing conventional market practices, and consumers buy products that respect those higher moral standards. Starting from a critical discussion of existing theoretical conceptualizations in terms of conventionalization/co-optation, quality conventions and resource partitioning, this article conceptualizes moralized markets as fields where actors are in strategic interaction. Using illustrations from several empirical studies, it suggests that all moralized markets are composed of a plurality of actors whose understanding of and commitments to moral principles vary. It reveals the main dimensions of the field, characterizes typical positions, and identifies and describes the core strategies used in struggles around field boundaries and the issues of policing and regulation of field settlements. The article concludes by offering six propositions regarding different possible outcome scenarios for the dynamics of moralized market fields, highlighting the role of the state for the stabilization of field settlements.

This paper develops a theoretically and empirically founded critique of the concept of political consumerism. In the course of the last decade, political consumerism was "discovered" as a new form of political participation, revealing the politics behind products. Surveys show that individuals more and more often use their consumption to voice political concerns, boycotting products or explicitly buying products for a political reason (boycott). I first discuss this concept and its different dimensions. I then offer an encompassing critique thereof, focusing on four main aspects: the conceptualization of consumers and consumption, the question of whether political consumption is new, the universality of the notion, and the articulation between individual and collective forms of political consumption.

Digital platforms act as new powerful intermediaries challenging existing market orders in many sectors. Algorithmically producing ratings and rankings often built from online consumer reviews, platforms are important players in the digitizing of valuation. This article asks how these new platform-generated valuations relate to other forms of valuation. It presents a qualitative case study of valuation in the hotel sector in Switzerland, drawing on interviews with professionals and a description of valuation categories on the Booking.com website. Going beyond the description of the opposition between online consumer reviews and traditional judgment devices, the analysis shows that valuation on the platform is based upon a permissive hierarchical integration of a plurality of valuation poles, with algorithmic valuation at its center. This destabilizes the evaluative landscape with regard to three issues: lack of transparency of the algorithmic ranking; weakening and even undermining of formulaic valuation; and the issue of singularization of the online offer.