Open AccessLabour and consumption. A new opportunity for capitalism resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic
Author(s) -
Marco Ambrosi de la Cadena
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
religación
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2477-9083
DOI - 10.46652/rgn.v5i26.735
Subject(s) - consumption (sociology) , capitalism , restructuring , consumerism , recession , economics , covid-19 , telecommuting , pandemic , development economics , market economy , economy , political economy , political science , sociology , keynesian economics , work (physics) , medicine , social science , disease , finance , pathology , politics , infectious disease (medical specialty) , law , mechanical engineering , engineering
The article presents a philosophical discussion about how the economic restructuring after the COVID-19 recession is based on two main factors: labour precariousness and consumption stimulation. From a review of data and literature about global economic growth and incomes from big companies like Amazon, it is possible to suggest that capitalism is facing a decline yet not a structural crisis. Nonetheless, labour after the outbreak is damaged by the application of flexibilization and informality – particularly telecommuting and immaterial labour – as seen in countries like Ecuador, Italy, India, and United States. Also, companies and governments are calling for a boost of consumption to save the economy based on fiscal policies, consumerism, and a ‘cleaning’ of consumption. In conclusion, a theoretical alternative is a microphysics of struggle understood as a politicization of the private space and a re-definition of labour as a material activity that requires better conditions for workers.