Monopsony Capitalism - Power and Production in the Twilight of the Sweatshop Age

This book explores the combination of capital's changing composition and labour's subjective agency to examine whether the waning days of the 'sweatshop' have indeed begun. Focused on the garment and footwear sectors, it introduces a universal logic that governs competition and reshapes the chain.

List of contents

Acknowledgements; Introduction. The return of the sweatshop; Part I. Past: 1. The bottleneck; 2. The global sweatshop; Part II. Present: 3. China: a strike at a giant footwear producer; 4. India: a warehouse workers struggle at a 'full package' supplier; 5. Honduras: A transnational campaign at a cotton commodity producer; Part III. Future: 6. Cartels of capital; 7. Labour's power in the chain; 8. Conclusion. The end of the sweatshop? Bibliography; Index.

About the author

Ashok Kumar teaches International Political Economy at Birkbeck, University of London. He has authored and edited a number of publications and is on the editorial collective of Historical Materialism. He completed his doctorate from the University of Oxford in 2015.

Summary

This book explores the combination of capital's changing composition and labour's subjective agency to examine whether the waning days of the 'sweatshop' have indeed begun. Focused on the garment and footwear sectors, it introduces a universal logic that governs competition and reshapes the chain.

Additional text

'Unlike many a book on capitalism and labour, Ashok Kumar not only goes global, but also, most significantly, moves into the innards of the most labour-intensive sectors. Thus, beyond the familiar narratives of exploitation, he proposed a theory of monopsony power in global value chains which brings together the inner logics of capital and the collective power of workers in analysing the evolution of the sweatshop.' Saskia Sassen, Columbia University, New York

Product details

• Authors: Kumar Ashok Kumar, Ashok Kumar, Ashok (Birkbeck Kumar
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.08.2020
• EAN: 9781108731973
• ISBN: 978-1-108-73197-3
• No. of pages: 290
• Series: Development Trajectories in Global Value Chains; Development Trajectories in Gl
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Business > Economics; POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Economy, macroeconomics, South East Asia, Labour / income economics, Labour Economics, economic growth, Political Economy, Economic systems and structures, Economic systems & structures, Economics of industrial organisation, Development economics & emerging economies, Indian sub-continent, South Asia (Indian sub-continent), Development economics and emerging economies, Economics of industrial organization