Labour Regime Change in the Twenty-First Century

Unfreedom, Capitalism and Primitive Accumulation
Erscheinungsjahr 2011
ISBN: 978-90-04-20247-4
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 35, 314 Seiten, Format (B × H): 167 mm x 246 mm, Gewicht: 669 g

Reihe: Studies in Critical Social Sciences

The object is to assess the validity, in the light of current economic development, of the epistemology structuring different historical interpretations linking capitalism, unfreedom and primitive accumulation. Conventional wisdom is that – regarding the incompatibility between capitalism and unfreedom –an unbroken continuity links Marxism to Adam Smith, Malthus, Mill and Max Weber. Challenging this, it is argued Marxism accepts that, where class struggle is global, capitalist producers employ workers who are unfree. The reasons are traced to the conceptualization by Smith of labour as value, by Hegel of labour as property, and by Marx of labour-power as commodity that can be bought/sold. From this stems the free/unfree distinction informing the process of becoming, being, remaining, and acting as a proletariat.

Zielgruppe

The book is aimed at an audience of undergraduate, postgraduate and academic researchers with an interest in agrarian issues, labour conditions, development studies, political economy, and questions of human rights.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Brass, Tom

Fachgebiete

• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Internationale Wirtschaft Entwicklungsökonomie & Emerging Markets
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Volkswirtschaftslehre Allgemein Wirtschaftstheorie, Wirtschaftsphilosophie
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Volkswirtschaftslehre Allgemein Beschäftigung, Arbeitslosigkeit
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Wirtschaftssysteme, Wirtschaftsstrukturen

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. The Smithian Inheritance
2. The Marxist Inheritance
3. Semi-Feudalism and Modern Marxism
4. ‘Disguised’ Wage Labour and Modern Marxism
5. Unfreedom as Primitive Accumulation?
6. Germany and the United States: ‘Primitive’ or ‘Fully Functioning’ Accumulation?
7. ‘Medieval Working Practices’? British Agriculture and the Return of the Gangmaster
8. Citizenship and Human Rights – or Socialism?
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Brass, Tom
Tom Brass, D.Phil (1982) formerly lectured in the SPS Faculty at Cambridge University and directed studies for Queens' College. He edited The Journal of Peasant Studies for almost two decades, and has published extensively on agrarian issues and rural labour relations.