Abstract
ABSTRACTA growing body of academic and policy research seeks to understand and address the problem of contemporary unfree labour. In this article, we argue that this literature could be strengthened by a stronger conceptualization of, and more systematic attention towards, the role of national states. In particular, we argue that there is a need to move beyond simplistic conceptualisations of states as simple agents of regulation and criminal justice enforcement who respond to the problem of unfree labour, and to recognize the causal and multifaceted role that national states play in creating the conditions in which unfree labour can flourish. We propose a framework to understand and compare the ways in which national states shape the political economy of unfree labour. Focusing on the United States, we outline three arenas of governance in which national states have been particularly central to enabling the conditions for unfree labour: the regulation of labour mobility, labour market regulation, and business regulation. We conclude by reflecting on the comparative political economy research that will be required to understand the role of different states in shaping the conditions in which unfree labour thrives or is eliminated.
Highlights
A growing body of academic and policy research seeks to understand and address the problem of contemporary unfree labour
We develop this argument by first setting out a theoretical and analytical perspective on how we can think about states in the political economy of unfree labour, calling for a greater comparative research effort to illuminate the role of states in shaping the dynamics of unfree labour across the world
We focus our attention on the three spheres of governance outlined earlier, where, in the United States (US) context, the state has been especially central to engineering the conditions in which unfree labour can thrive: (a) the regulation of labour mobility; (b) labour market regulation; and (c) business regulation
Summary
Common attributes of unfree labour include debt bondage, manipulation of contracts and credit, violence and threats of violence against workers or their families, and the predatory overcharging of workers for services such as accommodation or recruitment fees In recent years, both scholarly debates and policy discussions about the global problem of unfree labour have been gathering pace. In large parts of the scholarly debate, this lack of systematic attention to states stems from theoretical approaches to understanding the relationship between capitalism and unfree labour Both Marxist and neoclassical debates about unfree labour in the capitalist economy have centred on the capital-wage labour relation, around questions of value and agency (Fogel and Engerman 1974, Brass and van der Linden 1997, Rao 1999, Guérin 2013). In recent Marxist scholarship on unfree labour, this has led to a certain invisibility for the state and state actors, insofar as they are conceived as an extension of capital carrying little intrinsic or autonomous interest.
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