Capital Mobility and the Embeddedness of Labour

Abstract

The paper discusses claims that radical restructuring of capitalism in the late 20th century fundamentally changed class relations. It challenges abstract presentations of space and time transformation, in particular contesting the logic of generalised, asocial concepts of spatial compression. Changes in capital mobility are dynamic and contradictory processes and spatial and temporal transformations are experienced inherently unevenly. Movements of capital are themselves made by workers. Moreover, the economic weight and social labour involved in transport and communications increased rather than decreased during the last two decades of the 20th century.

Territorial (In) Coherence: Labour and Special Economic Zones in Laos's Border Manufacturing

“…Fixity is thus defined as establishing and reproducing the dense social relations, as well as material resources and activities which sustain these relations, in the places in which workers live and reproduce . The concept of fixity resonates with notions of “embeddedness” (Dunn ) but diverges in viewing workers’ strong relations to places less as a resource for trade union organisation (Carmichael and Herod )—although they may function as this—and more as the socially reproductive practices which maintain those places. These may include “care strategies” (Pearson and Kusakabe ), controlling material resources such as land (Manivong et al.…”

Why the New Maritime Geographies Matter

“…) are co‐evolving through the myriad interactions between business and social actors, across the plethora of spatial formations and within variable market and non‐market frameworks of co‐ordination and production organisation. Research in the field can develop insights in areas of transformation where insight is currently lacking, for example, in globalisation of South–South relations, industry‐scale adaptations to globalised supply risk, together with new resilience strategies to material supply and the ongoing financialisation and transnationalisation in maritime logistics operators and terminals (Slack and Fremont, ); in analysing the management of production operations of client firms by third‐ and fourth‐party (3PL, 4PL) logistics providers, including issues of risk management, time and seasonality and emissions management and carbon offsetting in ocean transportation; and integrating industrial relations within global logistics networks (Dunn, ), so as to reflect to issues such as the increasing transnational campaigning coordination and contestation of the current labour regime among seafarers and dockworkers (ITF, 2015).…”