Unfree labour and adverse incorporation in the global economy: comparative perspectives on Brazil and India

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to contribute to our understanding of unfree labour in the contemporary global economy, the processes by which it is generated, and its connections with poverty and vulnerability. I challenge dominant ‘residual’ views of unfree labour as either external to global economic activity or occurring solely within small-scale, localized or non-market contexts. Instead, I contend that unfree labour needs to be understood in ‘relational’ terms as a particular form of ‘adverse incorporation’ in the global economy. This form of adverse incorporation is constituted through the circular interaction between, on the one hand, the functioning of the global productive economy and associated labour markets, and, on the other, the social relations of poverty which give rise to vulnerability and to unfree labour. I draw throughout on original empirical research conducted on ‘slave labour’ in Brazilian agriculture and child labour in the Delhi garments sector.     

Reviews

Adopting a comparative historical approach informed by Marxist theory of imperialism, this study demonstrates the tendencies toward conflict between past and present rising and declining imperial powers. In the present context the study compares and contrasts two types of imperialism: a highly militarised US empire based on wars and territorial occupations and a market-driven Chinese empire driven by an alliance of state, foreign and national capital. Both imperial systems are influenced by “overseas” diasporas. In the case of the USA, an internal Zionist power configuration loyal to Israel subordinates Washington's Middle East policies to the economically prejudicial interests of a militarist state (Israel), while in the case of China the overseas diaspora facilitates and promotes investments and trade enhancing China's dynamic economic expansion. The emerging contradictions between and within the two conflicting styles of empire building, point to the need for a social transformation, enhancing the power and position of labour against the Zionised state and speculative economy in the USA and the new plutocrats in China.     

Economic crisis,downsizing and “layoff survivor's syndrome”

This article deals with layoff survivor's syndrome following the 1997 economic crisis in South Korea. South Korea has been credited with quickly recovering from its economic crisis by implementing policies aimed at economic restructuring. However, researchers have discovered that, in addition to those directly affected by a lay-off, layoff survivors as well suffer from impacts on their mental health — hence the name, layoff survivors' syndrome. The present research focuses on the socio-psychological impact of downsizing on layoff survivors on the basis of a nationwide survey. The findings reveal a significant difference in work attitudes after downsizing, as well as a significant impact on survivors' mental health. The study concludes that these negative impacts may negatively influence organizational productivity, and thus downsizing as a blanket strategy for organizational renewal needs to be reconsidered.     

Remembering the family home: emotions,belonging, and migrant men in multicultural Australia

Abstract

The article opens a space in which to discuss migrant men's emotions and their engagement with family life. It focuses on Australia's Goan community to explore the fluidity of ethnic identity and its relation to remembered family and childhood. The article suggests a “family” that is not only a domestic home but is constituted across both time and space. The men's memories of their childhood and family life prior to arrival in Australia are central to their constitution of self within Australia. These memories provide the men with the emotional means to contest their positioning in Australia's multicultural framework. The men's memories of childhood are experienced beyond domestic and multicultural spaces, making remembered families an important part of their work lives and sense of success in Australia.     

Is sextremism the new feminism? Perspectives from Pussy Riot and Femen

As Pussy Riot has changed the face of political protest in Russia, to the south, Ukraine has seen the emergence of Femen, famous for their topless protests against everything from sex tourism and trafficking to hot water shut-offs in Kyiv to sexism in the Ukrainian government to Putin's visits to Ukraine. Their concurrent appearance in the post-Soviet sphere encourages a discussion around the mobilization of sexuality as protest in the region. Both groups appropriate sexual language and imagery as well as physical sexuality in protest of their current regimes. This article engages the question of similarities between the two groups’ efforts and considers what differences structure their political goals and philosophies. What potential does the global visibility of these groups have to influence an emerging women's movement, and, more generally, how can sexuality be harnessed as a unifying force in anti-government activism in post-socialist Russia and Ukraine?     

Financial transitions in the PRC: banking on the state?

The reappearance of substantial debt in China after 2008 has refocused attention on the sustainability of the existing financial ‘model’. It’s not just that ‘traditional’ forms of bank-centred debt have re-emerged, but that the informal ‘shadow banking’ sector also seems increasingly fragile, generating debts that do not seem easy to repay. Explanations for the current situation focus on the way in which China responded to the global financial crisis, and on the incentives that exist to go outside the formal and more regulated banking system into often riskier activities. But there are more fundamental structural issues. The current financial system contains within it some of the dna of its predecessor, while the spatial distribution of power and authority is inextricably linked to the way the financial system functions. While it might be possible to tinker with some elements of current financial problems, the relationship between local government financing, land, the banking system and key economic sectors makes it difficult to resolve more structural issues without taking a holistic approach; one that would have fundamental consequences for the nature of the Chinese state, and the distribution of power within it.     

Deterrence and Protection in the EU’s Migration Policy

EU migration and asylum policy is facing tough challenges at the southern borders of the Union as migration and asylum pressures rise, fuelled by political instability and poverty in several regions of Asia and Africa. Current European border control practices create three spaces of control: externalised borders, through readmission and return agreements which enrol third countries in border control; the EU borders themselves through the work of Frontex and the development of a whole arsenal of technology tools for controlling mobility to and from the EU; and the Schengen area, whose regulations tend to reinforce deterrence at the borders through the Smart Border System. As a result, the EU’s balancing act between irregular migration control and protection of refugees and human life clearly tips towards the former, even if it pays lip service to the latter. More options for mobility across the Mediterranean and more cooperation for growth are essential ingredients of a sustainable migration management policy on the EU’s southern borders. In addition asylum management could benefit from EU level humanitarian visas issued at countries of origin.     

Mexican Immigrants

Abstract

Social Work's history is embedded in this profession's service and commitment to immigrant populations. This new century presents itself with a new mixture of immigrants who come to United States (U.S.) shores seeking a better life. The challenge to social workers is to be well-versed in social policy, human behavior, and practice realms related to serving these immigrants. Schools of social work must insure that curriculum reflects the needs and situations of this new mix of immigrants. One of the largest groups in this mix are those immigrants from Mexico. Of particular concern is the adaptation of Mexican and other Latino immigrants who come to this country without documentation. Social workers have an ethical responsibility to serve these clients in a culturally competent and informed manner. They must keep updated on immigration policy and entitlement or eligibility issues that mitigate these immigrants' ability to survive.     

‘The challenges of living here and there’: conflicting narratives of intermarriage between Cameroonian migrants and South Africans in Johannesburg

The influx of Africans into South Africa poses several challenges to the new democratic government. Today, the new government preoccupies itself not only with finding sustainable solutions for pathologies such as poverty, crime, and social violence but also with formulating succinct laws to regularise and curb the increasing population of Africans in major cities like Johannesburg. These laws have complicated the acquisition of legal documents for foreign Africans to reside in the country permanently. This article examines the dynamics of intermarriage between Cameroonian migrants and locals in Johannesburg, as a strategy for permanent residency in South Africa. It seeks to understand these relationships through the viewpoints of the various actors and how they give meaning to Cameroonian experiences of displacement. It concentrates on the actors' discrepant interpretations and their implications for autochthony, belonging, and transnational identities, as well as for issues of social inclusion and exclusion in the new South Africa.