Too much glass, social forces and the restructuring of production relations among care-givers in Ontario

by Jones, Craig McLeod

This project seeks to conaibute to the conversation around the iegitimate realm of inquiry in international political economy by bringing into consideration a fiuidamental component of women's traditional work The centrai argument is that traditional approaches to international political economy are inadequate to comprehend the differentiated impact of global social forces on the lived experiences of care givers, most of whom are women. An historical materialist approach, however, which begins ftom the social justice implications of transformation in the relations of production makes such a comprehension possible. The empirical focus of this study examines the nature of changes cmently underway in tli2 care-giving professions of nursing and day care in Ontario. The overaii conclusion is that historical materialism's emphasis on the relations of production - and partidarly the nature of power and social justice embedded therein - provides an inteilecnial tool kit to understand the nature, substance and direction of change in the emerging social structure of accumulation. The project condudes with some obsewations on the purpose of social theory and the linkages between power, social justice and c a ~ g labour.