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THE AIM OF THIS PAPER IS TO PROVIDE A PHENOMENOLOGICAL THEORY OF EXPLOITATION OF THE PEASANTRY WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LANDOWNERS AND THEIR TENANTS. THE EFFORT RESTS ON EXAMINING THE CONSTITUENT ELEMENTS OF THE PEASANTRY'S CONCEPTION OF EQUITY AND EXPLOITATION IN RELATION TO LANDLORDS.

For a given variety V of algebras, we define a class relation to be a binary relation R subset of S(2)which is of the form R = S-2 boolean AND K for some congruence class K on A(2), where A is an algebra in V such that S subset of A. In this paper we study the following property of V : every reflexive class relation is an equivalence relation. In particular, we obtain equivalent characterizations of this property analogous to well-known equivalent characterizations of congruence-permutable varieties. This property determines a Mal'tsev condition on the variety and in a suitable sense, it is a join of Chajda's egg-box property as well as Duda's direct decomposability of congruence classes. ; South African National Research FoundationNational Research Foundation - South Africa ; Centre for Mathematics of the University of Coimbra - Portuguese Government through FCT/MEC [UID/MAT/00324/2019] ; European Regional Development Fund through the Partnership Agreement PT2020 ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

AbstractScholars have identified a new configuration of spatial inequality in several of the largest cities in the developing world. This configuration, which I label interspersion, is characterized by the general proximity of classed spaces, particularly 'slums' and 'enclaves'. There is disagreement about how interspersion affects class relations. One side argues that it worsens class relations by foreclosing substantive class interaction; the other side maintains that it improves class relations by enabling greater class interaction. I argue that it is not the extent but the form of class interaction that matters. Interspersion worsens class relations by promoting categorically unequal interaction. It provides regular opportunities for the imposition of spatial boundaries on slum residents. Regular experiences of boundary imposition deepen their sense of discrimination. This argument is based on an ethnographic study of the relations between slum and enclave residents in Metro Manila.

THIS ARITICLE IS AN INTRODUCTION TO THIS SPECIAL ISSUE ENTITLED RURAL CLASS RELATIONS WHICH IS, ALSO, PART 1 OF SEVERAL ISSUES ENTITLED SOCIAL CLASSES IN LATIN AMERICA. THE AUTHOR DISCUSSES THE QUESTIONS OF TO WHAT DEGREE THE DEPENDENCY FRAMEWORK CAN BE APPLIED TO THE STUDY OF THE FORMATION OF RURAL SOCIAL STRUCTURES AND AGRARIAN STRUGGLE AND MODE-OF-PRODUCTION TO RURAL CLASS RELATIONS.

THE AUTHOR EXAMINES THE POST-AGRARIAN PERIOD AND AND THE CONTINUING TRANFORMATION OF RURAL CLASS RELATIONS IN THE PERUVIAN ANDES. HE ARGUES THAT IN THE 1970S 3 TRENDS ARE APPARENT: TENDENCY TOWARD CONTINUATION AND EXTENSION OF SMALLHOLDIN PRODUCTION; SEMIPROLETARIANIZATION; AND THE CONSOLIDATION AND GROWTH OF RURAL PETTY AND MIDDLE BOURGEOISIES. HE FINDS PERU INCREASINGLY CAPITALIST.

'Class' is a fiendishly complex and dynamic concept. This is of course true for those working with and through class explicitly, but perhaps even more so for those of us working on social issues in general. We often hear talk of 'the' working class, 'the' middle classes, or indeed 'the' capitalist class, which can give the impression that they are pre-determined, even static, categories; or that their very nature is something inherited, passed down from one generation to the next, and that perhaps they come with certain guarantees – particularly in relation to political identity and electoral politics.

A critical consideration of the way social class is defined in studies of HIV/ AIDS in Africa exposes the inadequacies of 'indexical' accounts in which class is reduced to a statistical category (the predominant mode of analysis in epidemiological research). It compares this to relational accounts which view class as a set of dynamic interactions between groups struggling to assert or defend social positions relating to livelihoods. Arguing that class relations frame both the transmission and the response to the AIDS epidemic in Africa, it looks at the evidence which can be drawn from both indexical and relational accounts of the particular significance of class in this situation, noting its crucial intersection with gender relations and taking Tanzania as its key case.
This paper was originally presented to the African Studies Association Biennial conference: Goldsmiths College, University of London: 13-15 September 2004.

This paper examines Goldthorpe's attempt to develop a theory which explains the stability of class relations and the generative processes by which class inequalities are sustained in general and the application of rational action theory to the explanation of persistent class differentials in educational attainment in particular. It is argued that Goldthorpe has restricted the remit of his theory to the mobilisation of economic resources and that the importance of cultural and social resources in the reproduction of advantage has been dropped from view. This development derives from his minimalist definition of class in terms of employment relations rather than collectivities of people who share identities and practices. Furthermore, Goldthorpe's reliance on rational action theory has led to an overly materialistic view of how individuals and families mobilise their resources across generations. He ignores the role of norms and values in shaping action and the level of indeterminacy or precariousness by which advancement may or may not be achieved. The implications of these criticisms for the future of class analysis are explored.

AbstractThe concept of 'globalisation' increasingly dominates economic and political debate in the 1990s. However, despite a profusion of commentaries and case studies on aspects of 'globalisation' such as 'Japanisation', 'Americanisation', 'McDonaldisation' and, of course, global information technologies, there are few radical interrogations of the notion of 'globalisation/internationalisation' and little discussion of the theoretical implications of recent changes in the global political economy (GPE). The central argument of this paper is that in order to make sense of these developments a broad focus is required which begins by conceptualising the changing nature of relations between national states in the global economy and concludes by understanding these relations in class terms. This is not simply to restate the importance of an international relations or international political economy 'dimension', since these 'disciplines' fail absolutely to relate 'interstate' restructuring to the re-composition of class relations. Rather, the aim of the paper is to prompt a more general theoretical reorientation towards understanding the process of international restructuring as one undertaken by national states in an attempt to re-impose tighter labour discipline and recompose the labour/capital relationship. My starting point, therefore, is that global capitalism is still structured as an antagonistic state system, and that many of the changes which characterise the global political economy are introduced by states in an attempt to solve problems that have their roots in labour/capital conflict. In summary form, the paper concludes that the concept of 'globalisation' obscures more than it reveals and that Marx's understanding of the relationship between labour, capital and the state remains a more productive starting point for analysing contemporary global processes.

While maintaining the neoliberal capitalist model, the Lula administration has ushered it into a new phase. With respect to the bloc in power, national and international financial capital today shares its hegemony with the important domestic industrial and agrarian bourgeoisie. However, with respect to the working class, there have been two changes. First, the new unionist elite that has been moving toward a micro-corporativism since the mid-1990s has established an alliance with the domestic bourgeoisie against financial capital. Second, the poor and unorganized laborers, who have been serving as a support class for neoliberal politics since the Collor and Cardoso administrations, today are more linked to the government and are a passive base for the rise of "Lulismo," a political phenomenon separate from the Partido dos Trabalhadores.