Labour regime change in the twenty-first century : unfreedom, capitalism and primitive accumulation / / by Tom Brass.

• Superior document: Studies in critical social sciences, v. 35
• Author: Brass, Tom, 1946-
• Year of Publication: 2011
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Studies in critical social sciences ; v. 35.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (324 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.
• Other title: Preliminary Material /; Introduction /; 1. The Smithian Inheritance /; 2. The Marxist Inheritance /; 3. Semi-Feudalism And Modern Marxism /; 4. ‘Disguised’ Wage Labour And Modern Marxism /; 5. Unfreedom As Primitive Accumulation? /; 6. Germany And The United States: ‘Primitive’ Or ‘Fully Functioning’ Accumulation? /; 7. ‘Medieval Working Practices’? British Agriculture And The Return Of The Gangmaster /; 8. Citizenship And Human Rights – Or Socialism? /; Conclusion /; Bibliography /; Author Index /; Subject Index /
• Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
• ISBN: 1283270668; 9786613270665; 9004210407
• ISSN: 1573-4234
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: by Tom Brass.

The object is to assess the validity, in the light of current economic development, of the epistemology structuring different historical interpretations linking capitalism, unfreedom and primitive accumulation. Conventional wisdom is that – regarding the incompatibility between capitalism and unfreedom –an unbroken continuity links Marxism to Adam Smith, Malthus, Mill and Max Weber. Challenging this, it is argued Marxism accepts that, where class struggle is global, capitalist producers employ workers who are unfree. The reasons are traced to the conceptualization by Smith of labour as value, by Hegel of labour as property, and by Marx of labour-power as commodity that can be bought/sold. From this stems the free/unfree distinction informing the process of becoming, being, remaining, and acting as a proletariat.