Social Reproduction in the Global Crisis: Rapid Recovery or Long-Lasting Depletion?

This chapter examines the social dimensions of the recent global economic crisis through the prism of social reproduction, allowing us to examine the invisible, unpaid parts of economies, as well as the much more visible paid parts. The crisis has been a crisis of capital accumulation, with falling investment, output and employment. But it has also been a rupture in social reproduction, understood as ?the process by which all the main relations in the society are constantly recreated and perpetuated? (Mackintosh 1981) This process requires non-market and not-for-pro?t activities as well as market and for-pro?t activities, and includes unpaid work in families as well as paid work in businesses (Elson 1998). Social reproduction involves the reproduction of labour as well as of capital. It is a contested and contradictory process, and, from time to time, action by the state is required to try to safeguard it. In the recent crisis, there was swift action by governments to safeguard some aspects of social reproduction, but not of others. This chapter asks why, and examines some of the consequences.