Introduction: From Autonomism to Post-Autonomia, from Class Composition to a New Political Anthropology?

Composing the social factory: An autonomist urban geography of Buenos Aires

“…But while these concepts allude to important geographical issues they remain vague, belying post-autonomism’s proclivity towards the generalising (Pitts, 2018; Wright, 2017). In this sense a (re)turn to autonomist concepts, once spatialised and intersectional, can save elements of post-autonomism from themselves (Bellofiore and Tomba, 2017; De Bloois et al., 2014). Compositional analyses provide a rigorous, grounded, and clear framework with which to understand socio-spatial dialectics, thus helping to deliver on the promises of the social factory.…”

“…Amongst them, that of the social factory always alluded to a significant rethinking of the process of class composition, yet rarely seemed to deliver on its promises.Yet, in class composition analysis autonomist thinking has precisely the tool to realise the social factory’s potential, but only if properly spatialised. Autonomist thinking is at its best when its seeks to go beyond itself, but resists straying into the appealing, yet ultimately frustrating, domain of post-autonomism (Pitts, 2018) – especially pertinent given geography’s proclivity to draw from the latter tendency (De Bloois et al., 2014; Purcell, 2012).…”

“…Soja, 1980), the paper therefore makes a series of clear and important contributions. First, it emphasises the importance of a (re)engagement with autonomist ideas, illustrating how the more common geographical uptake of post -autonomist concepts (see De Bloois et al., 2014; Purcell, 2012) has led to imprecision and the neglect of powerful tools with which to understand capitalism’s multiple, intersecting antagonisms (cf. Pitts, 2018).…”

“… 2 For an overview in the similarities and differences between autonomist and post-autonomist work, see Bowring, 2004; De Bloois et al., 2014; Wright, 2017.…”