Surplus Labour in the South at the Current Juncture: A Note

Abstract

The ascendancy of neoliberalism from the 1970s has resulted in a massive crisis of reproduction and expansion of labour reserves globally, in particular in the South, contributing significantly to the current global crisis of capitalism. Contemporary neoliberal capitalism has structurally reconfigured the balance of class power everywhere in favour of capital in general, resulting in substantial deterioration in the world of work and workers’ well-being everywhere. This article explores the evolving dynamics of surplus labour in the South at the current juncture through the lens of the Marxian political economy, in the context of some of the most powerful features underlying the ongoing structural transformations in contemporary world capitalism.