Economy as a Transient Boundary Structure

Conventional economic theories typically treat economy as a persistent system of value circulation, ownership, or institutional continuity. This paper proposes an alternative inter- pretation: economy is not a continuous entity, but a transient structure that emerges only at the moment when the boundary between self and other undergoes transformation. By examining ordinary economic acts such as purchasing and selling, this paper ar- gues that economic phenomena arise exclusively during boundary transitions and vanish once those transitions stabilize. Objects, prices, and ownership states do not themselves constitute economic reality; economy appears only in the moment of relational conversion. This boundary-based perspective allows a unified explanation of diverse phenomena including market exchange, gift-giving, labor relations, subscription services, symbolic transfers of credibility and recognition, and fraudulent practices, without relying on the assumption of intrinsic value or continuous economic substance. Economy, on this view, is neither a system nor a flow, but a momentary relational configuration.