Neoliberal Capitalism, Social Reproduction Crisis, Gender Implications and Forms of Resistance: The case of Greece

Neoliberal capitalism and its accompanied austerity measures has had a profound effect on social reproduction throughout Europe. Social reproduction, ie, the process that makes it possible for individuals, families, and society to reproduce itself – is in crisis. The concept of social reproduction utilized in this presentation is framed within the feminist and Marxist tradition. Historically, social reproduction was met through both waged and unwaged work with women playing a predominant role either as waged, predominantly public sector, workers (social workers, teachers, carers, nurses, etc) or as unpaid workers (unpaid carers: mothers, wives, etc.) but now both forms of work are destabilized and undermined. Thus, the crisis in social reproduction. Within this crisis women’s unequal position is further undermined but at the same time progressive women and men are organizing to present alternatives forms of social reproduction. This presentation by utilizing the case of Greece will first outline the neoliberal processes that have caused the crisis in social reproduction. Second, it will present the consequences of social reproduction by highlighting the gender implications. Third, it will discuss the reorganization of social reproduction which is taking place outside the logic of capitalist society and is manifested through the creation of solidarity health clinics and pharmacies, communal kitchens, creation of various forms of bartering etc. This presentation will argue that these forms present glimpses of another society , a society based on principles of solidarity and cooperation. A society worth fighting for. And finally the presentation will conclude by discussing at which level can this crisis be resolved and the role of the social work profession.

Acts of Solidarity: Crossing and Reiterating Israeli-Palestinian Frontiers

In academic and public discourses on the Zionist-Palestinian conflict prevails still a ‘methodological nationalism’ based on a separatist imagination that overshadows the existence and role of Israeli-Palestinian forms of communality and solidarity. This article analyzes micropolitical practices that cross existing frontiers both within Israel and between occupied Palestinian territories and Israel. Through recent conceptualizations of ‘acts’, I read these ethnographic episodes in their intentional and performative dimension. What is the role of these ‘acts’? What are their effects on both the participants and the wider public? Through two interconnected cases, different functions of acts are explored. The first case relates to encounters between Israelis and Palestinian in the embattled city of Hebron in the occupied Palestinian territories; the second investigates moments of a Gandhi-inspired peace march at the ‘internal’ frontier of the Israeli Negev desert. The ethnographic perspective reveals what lies behind and beneath the acts, going beyond the obvious structures of power of the conflict. Acts function primarily as a valve of catharsis for the participants themselves, both overcoming and reproducing hegemonic discursive elements of the conflict. Paradoxically, acts of solidarity are often crucial in creating public knowledge about the conflict in more sectarian terms. 

‘New’ migrant identities: unravelling opportunities and restrictions

Labour and capital mobility from globalisation has given rise to significant increases in the reliance of migrant labour in established gateways, but also in new migration destinations. Many aspects of migrant incorporation in new migration destinations have received some attention, not least regarding employer and employee relations. Less attention has been focused on the construction of migrant as a marker of identification, although identities, particularly regarding gender and ethnicity, in the workplace have received considerable attention. This article aims to illuminate knowledge on how migration produces social change thereby responding to a call from Batnitzky et al. (2009, p. 1290) for additional attention on what ‘the practical and symbolic effects of migration are as people move across different structures and institutions of social control….’ Mindful of Goffman’s (1969, 1983) emphasis on individual interactions and experiences, it examines what it means to be a migrant in terms of everyday encounters and experiences. It investigates the array and interplay of internal and external processes that create migrant identities and the implications of this for social integration.

The paper argues that one of the paradoxes of globalisation, and of the associated increased levels of migrant labour, is the construction of the migrant identity that ultimately impedes social integration. It shows how the application of migrant identity (internally and externally) bestows a particular status that affects (options for) individual behaviour and subsequent actions and outcomes. The paper argues that while migrants value the migrant identity status because of the benefits that it brings, this status can also cause high levels of dissatisfaction among migrants and it can exclude migrants from wider benefits of full citizenship. Migrants have individual identification processes, but external forces, including social structures and institutions, also affect migrant identity. These forces help to shape individual expectations and standards, contributing to identity interruption and dissonance.

The paper is structured as follows: it uses social identity theory as a means of understanding what it is to be a ‘migrant’ in a new destination, while simultaneously recognising the inevitability of this generic label - migrants are an extremely heterogeneous group, made up of individuals with different experiences, values and so forth. The analysis considers the significance of context and of social interactions, thus paying attention to how identity is constructed and performed by the individual and also assigned by others. Empirical evidence is used to examine how having a migrant status affects individual prospects. The paper evaluates the extent to which patterns and processes of migration present an opportunity for social change, positive or negative.