Gore, E. and LeBaron, G. orcid.org/0000-0003-0083-6126 (2019) Using social reproduction theory to understand unfree labour. Capital and Class, 43 (4). pp. 561-580. ISSN 0309-8168
Abstract
Most scholarship within social reproduction theory focuses on women’s paid and unpaid care and domestic work, typically within the global North. Rarely has social reproduction theory grappled with unfree labour in commodity supply chains, particularly in the global South. However, these labour relations also involve gendered power relations that cut across the productive and reproductive realms of the economy, which can be illuminated by social reproduction theory analysis. In this article, we reflect on how social reproduction theory can be used to make sense of unfree labour’s role in global supply chains, expanding its geographical scope and the forms of labour exploitation encompassed within it. Conceptually, we harness the insights of social reproduction theory, and Jeffrey Harrod and Robert W Cox’s work on ‘unprotected work’ in the global economy to examine how gendered power relations shape patterns of unfree labour. Empirically, we analyse interview and survey data collected among cocoa workers in Ghana through LeBaron’s Global Business of Forced Labour project. We argue that social reproduction theory can move global supply chain scholarship beyond its presently economistic emphasis on the productive sphere and can shed light into the overlaps between social oppression, economic exploitation, and social reproduction.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2019 The Author(s). This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in Capital and Class. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. Article available under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). |
Keywords: | feminist political economy; gender; global supply chains; social reproduction theory; unfree labour |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Politics and International Relations (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL (ESRC) ES/N001192/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 20 Nov 2019 11:42 |
Last Modified: | 30 Apr 2021 15:53 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | SAGE Publications |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/0309816819880787 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:153693 |
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Filename: Using social reproduction theory FINAL Sept 2019 .pdf
Licence: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0