Reserve army of labor and migration

Abstract

For exploitation by capital, Karl Marx 1990 argued, workers must be free in the double sense – free of possessions, but also politically free. Yet, the 19th‐century situation that Marx analyzed included Irish immigrants who formed a subsection of the British working class with fewer political rights. Marx began with a discussion of how economic growth under capitalism creates unemployment, which evolved into a discussion of five components of the working class: army of labor, floating reserve, stagnant pool, latent reserve, and paupers. While Marx never explicitly mentioned the lack of political rights, he did suggest that Irish migrants in the British working class were trapped in precarious stagnant pool jobs. This essay will examine Marx's theory of the multisector reserve army, and draw out the political implications for undocumented immigrants in modern advanced economies.

The chronos of class conflict. The relevance of the temporal dimension in conflicts related to labour migration

“…From this perspective, the working class not only appears as a fragmented group situated in space but also as a fluid succession of different labour market positions and experiences, or even a temporal phenomenon. This might be clarified by looking at the idea of the industrial reserve army, often cited when it comes to labour migration (Duggan 2013;Mezzadra & Neilson 2013, pp. 149;Neuhauser 2018).…”

“…149;Neuhauser 2018). Marx described the industrial reserve army as a part of the working class consisting of those who do not work but would like to do so and those who work far below standards concerning payment and working conditions (Duggan 2013). The industrial reserve army then functions as a labour force reservoir and at the same time has a disciplining effect on the regularly employed.…”

Memperbesar Tentara Cadangan Pekerja: “Bonus Demografi” Dan Ekonomi Politik Negara Neoliberal Di Indonesia

“…Pergerakan modal telah menciptakan tentara cadangan pekerja dengan mekanisme in dustrialisasi (Marx, 1976: 557) atau pertanian (Marx, 1976: 883) dan kemudian menggunakan cadangan pekerja tersebut untuk mendisiplinkan para buruh di barak industrialisasi. Pendisiplinan yang dilakukan seperti dengan membuat agar tentara pekerja bekerja lebih lama tanpa meminta kenaikan gaji, memperlemah perlawanan, dan membuat gaji buruh tetap pada kondisi yang menguntungkan bagi akumulasi modal (Pollin, 1998;Duggan, 2013).…”

The Intolerance Multiplier

“… Marx (1977b:169), cited by D'Amato (1997:1-2) andDuggan (2012).3 The Gini coefficient is suggested here because of its familiarity and wide usage. An interesting alternative measure of inequality would be the "Brandeis ratio" recently suggested byAyres and Edlin (2011).at UQ Library on November 17, 2014 rrp.sagepub.com Downloaded from…”

“…Regarding Veblen and invidious comparisons, see Oncu (2009). Also, older people who formerly had good jobs – a group that Marx called the “float” – may become hostile toward young immigrants, who are perceived as job stealers (Duggan 2012).…”