Navigating conflicting moral temporalities: gradual growth, state sovereignty and small-scale trade in urban Ghana

Abstract

This article delves into the moral economy that informs small-scale trade in urban Ghana's growing markets, and that intersects with development, the state, and the global economy. Small-small, emphasizes slow, gradual, dependable progress and inclusiveness. While (re)distributing profit and possibilities, small-small is also used to discredit competitors and is felt to inhibit personal growth. It furthermore often conflicts with neoliberal norms of self-governing and self-optimization. Drawing from fieldwork in Tamale, the study explores how morality intertwines with market dynamics, the nation-state, and politics of informality. Moral economy illuminates the temporal tensions between individual and collective gains against the backdrop of local economic practices and global capitalism. It underscores the moral underpinnings of protectionism and sovereignty amid neoliberal shifts, revealing complex interactions shaping economic life in urban Ghana.