Modern Slavery, Unfree Labour and the Labour Market (original) (raw)
Related papers
Contrary to the expectations of liberal and neoclassical economists, as well as many Marxists, the deepening and extension of capitalism appears to be heightening the prevalence of unfree labour. By most accounts, the forms of exploitation encapsulated within unfree labour-including those typically referred to as forced labour, human trafficking and modern slavery-are proliferating in the global economy, including in advanced capitalist societies. We evaluate these developments in light of the relationship between capitalism and unfree labour through the prism of Marxism, revealing a deep-seated divide between a neo-Smithian reading, according to which capitalism and unfree labour are incompatible, and a more faithful Marxist tradition that views forced labour as one possible form of labour control and exploitation under capitalism. Building on this second tradition, we argue that IPE scholars who seek to shed light into the contemporary and historic dynamics of unfree labour must transcend the rigid theoretical binaries that have long characterised Marxist debates on capitalism and unfree labour.
Re)Conceptualising Unfree Labour: Local Labour Control Regimes and Constraints on Workers' Freedoms
Global Labour Journal, 2019
Disputes over the meaning of human trafficking, forced labour and modern slavery have both provoked and coincided with a reinvigorated debate in academic and policy literatures about how to conceptualise unfree labour. This article traces the contours of the debate over free and unfree labour, identifying its key stakes as the debate has developed and paying particular attention to recent interventions. It begins by identifying a problem common to both canonical liberal and Marxian approaches to the free/unfree labour distinction, which is to fetishise the labour market. It then discusses the consensus that is emerging across disciplines and in leading international organisations that labour unfreedom in contemporary capitalism is best conceptualised as a continuum rather than a binary, highlighting recent disciplinary-specific contributions. It argues that the metaphor of a continuum of labour unfreedom obscures more than it illuminates. Drawing upon the growing body of literature that advocates a multifaceted approach to labour unfreedom, this article argues that a robust concept of local labour control regime does a much better job of capturing the complex mix of consent and coercion involved in extracting value from labour power than the idea of a continuum of labour unfreedom. Introduction Disputes over the meaning of human trafficking, forced labour and modern slavery have coincided with a reinvigorated debate about how to conceptualise unfree labour, a phenomenon that has attracted increasing attention as neo-liberal labour regimes, best exemplified by global supply chains, have become embedded across the globe. Although conducted in different idioms or registers-the first involves legal and policy questions, while the latter tends to be academic and theoretical-and, thus, the debates are not congruent, they tend to overlap and intersect. Significantly, the way that unfree labour is conceptualised informs the kinds of strategies and policies that are advocated to deal with the range of its contemporary manifestations. The fault line over the dispute about how to conceptualise unfree labour is whether or not the key institutions of capitalist labour markets-private property, contract and wage labour-are seen as resulting in work arrangements that are regarded as consensual and fair or coercive and exploitative. At the crux of the discussion of free and unfree labour are notions of consent, coercion and exploitation. Anthropologists, development scholars, historians, geographers, socio
(Re)Conceptualising Unfree Labour: Local Labour Control Regimes and Constraints on Workrs' Freedoms
Global Labour Journal, 2019
Disputes over the meaning of human trafficking, forced labour and modern slavery have both provoked and coincided with a reinvigorated debate in academic and policy literatures about how to conceptualise unfree labour. This article traces the contours of the debate over free and unfree labour, identifying its key stakes as the debate has developed and paying particular attention to recent interventions. It begins by identifying a problem common to both canonical liberal and Marxian approaches to the free/unfree labour distinction, which is to fetishise the labour market. It then discusses the consensus that is emerging across disciplines and in leading international organisations that labour unfreedom in contemporary capitalism is best conceptualised as a continuum rather than a binary, highlighting recent disciplinary-specific contributions. It argues that the metaphor of a continuum of labour unfreedom obscures more than it illuminates. Drawing upon the growing body of literature ...
Modern Slavery: The UK Response
Industrial Law Journal, 2010
This article looks at section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 entitled ‘Slavery, Servitude and Forced or Compulsory Labour’, which criminalises modern forms of slavery in the United Kingdom. It discusses the landmark case Siliadin v France of the European Court of Human Rights, examines the possible interpretation of the new UK legislation in light of the case law, and explores the challenges that lie ahead. The paper argues that section 71 of the new Act is a useful reminder that courts and legislatures can work in tandem to establish and promote human rights principles. With the support of groups of civil society, they can take positive steps in addressing gross injustices that affect the most vulnerable amongst us: abusive working conditions produced by a market economy.
Unravelling Unpersons : Inscribing the Voices of Contemporary Slavery in the UK
2009
The UN has updated definitions of slavery to take into account its presentday forms [in 1982 …]:-) slavery is any form of dealing with human beings leading to the forced exploitation of their labour.-) slavery is any institution or practice which, by restricting the freedom of the individual, is susceptible of causing severe hardships and serious deprivation of liberty.
Capitalism and unfree labor: a review of Marxist perspectives on modern slavery
Contrary to the expectations of liberal and neoclassical economists, as well as many Marxists, the deepening and extension of capitalism appear to be heightening the prevalence of unfree labor. By most accounts, the forms of exploitation encapsulated within unfree labor – including those typically referred to as forced labor, human trafficking and modern slavery – are proliferating in the global economy, including in advanced capitalist societies. We evaluate these developments in light of the relationship between capitalism and unfree labor through the prism of Marxism, revealing a deep-seated divide between a neo-Smithian reading, according to which capitalism and unfree labor are incompatible, and a more faithful Marxist tradition that views forced labor as one possible form of labor control and exploitation under capitalism. Building on this second tradition, we argue that international political economy scholars who seek to shed light into the contemporary and historic dynamics of unfree labor must transcend the rigid theoretical binaries that have long characterized Marxist debates on capitalism and unfree labor.
The UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 Three Years On
The Modern Law Review
This article provides a critical assessment of the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 (MSA) three years after its enactment. It puts forward the following claims: first, that while criminalisation of individuals who engage in severe labour exploitation is welcome, the legislation has failed to increase prosecutions and provide adequate remedies to victims; second, that heavy reliance on criminal law for the regulation of severe labour exploitation is insufficient, because the broader political and legislative context suggests that there is no political will to address structural factors, including legal structures, that create vulnerability to exploitation; and third, that the MSA is too weak in tackling modern slavery by businesses in their supply chains, as existing evidence from business responses to the MSA indicates. The article concludes that despite the passing of the Act, there is much scope for improvement in measures for eliminating labour exploitation, even with regard to its most severe forms.
Forced and Unfree Labour: An Analysis
International Critical Thought, 2014
In 2011 the UN International Labour Organization produced a new estimate of 20.9 million victims of forced labour (ILO, 2012: p. 16). Forced labour continues to be found in almost all countries and all economic sectors. This persistence and development of forced labour raises various issues that we explore in this paper. It is free labour that is central to the Marxist account of capitalism, both in terms of its economic and ideological dynamics. There is, therefore, a potential tension for Marxist theory in terms of the persistence and diversification of forced labour and we explore this, drawing also on the 'realist' concepts of agency and structure. For forced labour to flourish, as clearly it is, there must also be a combination of motive and opportunity in the contemporary world. One can, therefore, ask what kind of capitalism promotes forced labour.