Beyond the Coronavirus: Understanding Crises of Social Reproduction

Abstract

From a feminist political economy perspective, the unfolding of the coronavirus is a further reminder of the fundamental contradiction between a capitalist system that prioritises profits, and a feminist ethic that prioritises life-making or social reproduction. This article argues for a more systematic understanding of crises of social reproduction under capitalism, stressing the difference between such crises for labour and those for capital. The coronavirus crisis represents an extraordinary example of a crisis of social reproduction for capital, but this article examines crises of social reproduction for capital and labour that arise from the more ordinary workings of capitalism. The focus is on unfolding such crises in the Global South, using the case of India to illustrate the usefulness of such an analysis. KEYWORDS: social reproduction; gender; labour; political economy; India