Reflections on the changing sphere of social reproduction and class struggle: cases from Peru and Spain
Abstract
What does the term “social reproduction” refer to? I suggest at the beginning of this article first that, despite its common use, we use the term to cover quite different and often inconsistent activities; and second, that according to any definition, the scope of “social reproduction” changes according to historically specific forms of capitalism. Using two cases, one in central Peru from 1950 to 1970 and the other in the south of the Pais Valenciano (Spain) from 1970 to 2000, I suggest that the 'livelihoods' that people have to defend necessarily include both what we would call ‘the labour process’ narrowly defined as well as elements of the means of production that are needed so that they can pursue that labour process. Therefore, it is not only the capitalist who must ensure that the “working instruments are maintained” (Marx), but in these cases, the workers also have to do so. This effectively modifies the arena of what we would call “social reproduction” and, therefore, the politics associated with it.Downloads
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