Overview of Session

  • Discussion of Walter Rodney's work on slavery and underdevelopment.

  • Introduction of a film related to the themes discussed in class.

Previous Class Recap

  • Focused on Rosa Luxemburg and W. E. B. Du Bois as thinkers who extended Marx's theories to account for global capitalism.

Rosa Luxemburg

  • Critiques the assumption of a universal capitalist system composed only of workers and capitalists.

  • Asserts the need for non-capitalist economies to export their surplus commodities:

    • Capitalism requires colonization of the globe.

    • Example: Cotton in India.

    • Example: Corn in Mexico.

W. E. B. Du Bois

  • Discusses the capitalist colonization of Africa leading to World War I.

  • Critiques how capitalist society in Europe drew in more workers:

    • Peasants and serfs moved to cities for wage labor.

    • Labor forces become consumers detached from means of subsistence.

  • Emphasizes the global color line as an organizing principle, focusing on:

    • Internal conflicts within European societies and labor movements.

    • Division between skilled and unskilled labor in Europe, termed the aristocracy of labor.

  • Suggests shared racial projects involving imperialism, impacting African Americans and Afro-descended people.

Presentation of Walter Rodney

Biography

  • Born in 1942, died in 1980, from Guyana, South America.

  • Studied in Jamaica and the UK; taught in Tanzania and Jamaica.

  • Expelled from Jamaica due to political tensions, leading to riots in his support.

  • Advocated for a multiracial working-class alliance in Guyana before his assassination.

Key Texts

  • "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa" is his notable work discussing economic history and underdevelopment.

  • His writings align with a Marxist analysis of global capitalism.

World Systems Theory

  • Developed as an explanation of global economic disparities.

  • Emphasizes:

    • Capitalism as a global movement rather than just a series of national developments.

    • Differentiation between developed core (global North) and underdeveloped periphery (global South).

  • Rodney critiques the notion of linear development paths and emphasizes active underdevelopment of regions.

Historical Perspective

  • Describes the impact of the slave trade on Africa, highlighting:

    • Human beings as productive forces taken from Africa, hindering local economic development.

  • Colonialism continued this process:

    • It restructured African societies, imposing wage labor and capitalist market relations.

Focus on Guyana

Economic Analysis

  • Rodney's examination of Guyana emphasizes:

    • Sugar plantations and their role in the global capitalist system.

    • Planters focused on maintaining power by preventing local economic development.

    • Key extractive industries such as timber and mining not pursued adequately by plantation owners.

  • Anti-developmental interests of planters who preferred reliance on imported goods and labor, thus avoiding competition.

Environmental Considerations

  • Discussion of monoculture and its ecological impacts:

    • Sugar production hampered local ecosystems.

  • Rodney noted the ongoing pattern of exploitative practices from core to periphery thereby maintaining a systematic hierarchy.

Film Presentation

Content Warning

  • The film depicts violent imagery relating to slavery and labor conditions in industrial settings.

  • It aims to provoke thought on the historical context linking slavery, capitalism, and modern labor exploitation.

In-Class Discussion

  • Initial reactions to film's portrayal of the relationship between slavery and capitalism:

    • Review of surplus value in contexts of both slavery and wage labor.

    • Discussion on how labor extraction in slavery reflects the extreme exploitation of workers.

Further Analysis of Race and Capitalism

  • The film's commentary on how race continues to stratify labor;

  • Black workers often occupy positions of lesser power and compensation relative to their white counterparts, representing ongoing systemic racism in the labor market.

Historical Context of Unions

  • Reflection on the evolution of unions:

    • Organizations initially formed to protect workers often succumbed to bureaucracy and interests aligned with management due to pressures such as the Red Scare.

    • The dynamics of labor struggles through historical transitions noted, with insight drawn from Rodney and Du Bois.

Political Implications

Rodney's Theories

  • Rodney emphasized the interconnectedness in labor exploitation across history and geography:

    • Importance of collaborative movements among diverse racial and ethnic groups in seeking justice and dismantling oppressive systems.

  • Advocated for a multiplicity of voices within labor movements to challenge systemic inequalities.

Ongoing Relevance

  • Conclusively ties back to the modern implications of labor exploitation, environmental degradation, and global capitalism in the contemporary context:

    • The need for analysis that equally addresses both historical and contemporary issues in labor rights and economic equity.

Closing Reflections

  • Encouraged to partake in further readings and discussions on Rodney’s critical perspectives to enrich understanding of labor and economic relations today.