Social reproduction in crisis
The coronavirus crisis brings into sharp light capital’s reliance on social reproductive labour, Kate Bradley argues.
The cradle will rock
The social crisis produced by the coronavirus has had a major impact on children and the way their care is organised. Here, a nursery worker reflects on a fortnight of uncertainty and change.
What a way to make a living | Introduction
Meet our new article series, What a way to make a living, which will explore the lived realities of work and exploitation under modern capitalism
revolutionary reflections | Value, force, many states and other problems: part 3
In the third and final part of his essay on violence and capitalist social relations, Colin Barker insists that capitalist states cannot be theorised without recognising their multiplicity.
A gamer’s guide to social reproduction
Video games can be vehicles for a whole range of political ideas – and some can even help us explain social reproduction theory, argues Kate Bradley.
revolutionary reflections | Value, force, many states and other problems: part 2
In the second part of his essay on how violence and coercion are written into the core of capitalist social relations, Colin Barker explores how states modify the law of value.
revolutionary reflections | Value, force, many states and other problems: part 1
The first part of Colin Barker’s essay looking at how violence and coercion are written into the core of capitalist social relations
revolutionary reflections | Invisible threads: on value and valorization
Charlie Jarsve goes back to the theory of value and exploitation in Marx’s Capital to explore how exploitation relates to different forms of oppression.
revolutionary reflections | Notes on Capital and the State: part 2
In the second of a three part series Colin Barker continues his investigation into the relationship between capital and the state.
Caring enough to strike: US teachers’ strikes in perspective
Last week, 33,000 Los Angeles teachers went on strike. Tithi Bhattacharya analyses the past year’s teachers strikes from a social reproduction framework.
Social reproduction, the Global Women’s Strike and the future of revolutionary theory
The final plenary at the Revenge of Everyday Life conference saw Tithi Bhattacharya and Siggie Vertommen lead a discussion on social reproduction, the Global Women’s Strike and the future of revolutionary theory.
The Social Reproduction of Neoliberalism
Listen to Neil Davidson and Mona Dohle discuss the social reproduction of neoliberalism, climate change, and the lingering effects of the Great Recession.
The political economy of urban crisis: housing and the city
At the recent Revenge of Everyday Life conference, Ruth Lorimer talked about the growth of social reproductive services such as cleaning through gig economy platforms in cities, while Katya Nasim talked about the housing crisis and the work of London Renters Union. Listen to the talks and discussion:
Care, consent and coercion under capitalism
Alan Sears, a socialist activist based in Toronto, spoke to Hazel Croft about sexuality, sexual coercion and consent, and the possibilities for sexual liberation today.
Get The State Out Of My Bedroom
Are civil partnerships a new freedom, or do they simply show us how far there still is to go for real liberation?
Race, Gender and Social Reproduction in British Capitalism 1945-78
How can we understand the ways that capitalism comes to be gendered and racialised?
Capitalism’s life source: the domestic and social basis for exploitation
US-based socialist Tithi Bhattacharya responds to questions from rs21 on her new book about social reproduction theory.
Social Reproduction Theory: going beyond Marx’s Capital
Colin Barker of Manchester rs21 spoke on ‘Social Reproduction Theory: Remapping Class, Recentering Oppression’ at the recent Historical Materialism conference in London.
3 perspectives on rs21’s A Day Without Men
The day of discussion included sessions on Corbyn and ‘Corbynomics’, social reproduction and struggles for healthcare and housing, and repression and resistance in Catalonia.
Living with depression under capitalism
Kate Bradley looks at her experience of depression, the interplay of austerity and mental health problems, and the ambivalent role of state services
Review: The Politics of Everybody
Bill Crane reviews Holly Lewis’ standout book on the relationship between capitalism and oppression. One of the most promising trends on the intellectual left in recent years is the emergence of a strong and sophisticated Marxist-feminist current of academics and activists. The identification of the social reproduction of the working class as the root of […]
Social reproduction: from theory to practice
Sara Bennett discusses the relevance today of Lise Vogel’s understanding of women’s oppression and the dynamics of capitalism Lise Vogel’s 1983 book Marxism and the Oppression of Women is an attempt to bring women’s oppression into the realm of Marxist political economy. She theorises the role of women in the reproduction of labour power, and […]
What the Junior Doctors strike tells us about how to organise in the public sector
Rick Lighten looks at the lessons that other public sector workers can take from how the Junior Doctors have organised and discusses how a strike in a site of ‘social reproduction’ might be different to one in an industry that makes a profit. Today Junior Doctors are taking strike action against the attempted imposition of […]
HM 2015: Social reproduction and intersectionality
The Historical Materialism conference that took place in London earlier this month continued important debates around social reproduction and intersectionality. Here, Colin Wilson introduces the concept of social reproduction and summarises the discussions that took place in meetings with Tithi Bhattacharya, Alan Sears, Hester Eisenstein, Kate Davies and Lise Vogel. What is “social reproduction”? The first plenary of Historical Materialism, […]
Echoes of eugenics in Osborne’s budget
Eugenics is alive and well – in the Tory budget. Nicholas Cimini explains why. Last week we saw the first all-Tory budget in almost two decades and with it the introduction of a “two-child policy” that cuts tax credits and housing benefits for families with more than two children. This means new claimants will not […]
1915 Glasgow Rent Strike: how workers fought and won over housing
One hundred years ago the workers and housewives of Glasgow forced the government to place on the statute book the first-ever Rent Restrictions Act.
Nancy Lindisfarne and Jonathan Neale reply to Colin Wilson’s comments on ‘What gender does’
Nancy Lindisfarne and Jonathan Neale continue a discussion on their article What gender does, responding to comments from Colin Wilson To situate our response to Colin, it is useful to see that there are now broadly three schools of approach to gender in rs21. We think it will be healthy for all three approaches to […]
A reponse to Nancy Lindisfarne and Jonathan Neale’s “What gender does”
Colin Wilson responds to Nancy Lindisfarne and Jonathan Neal’s discussion of What gender does in ISJ 139. Nancy and Jonathan’s response to Colin will be published tomorrow. The oppression of women has become a central political topic worldwide. Part of what revolutionaries have to say about women’s oppression is straightforward – that we oppose all […]
Historical Materialism 2014: Migration, the Labour Market and Social Reproduction
The second of three articles by UNITE union activist Ian Allinson, reporting from four very useful sessions[1] on learning the North American Labour movement at this year’s Historical Materialism conference. We’re all busy fighting to stop “blame the migrants” arguments from politicians from UKIP to Labour and from the press getting a hold in our […]