Pequena produção urbana e sua articulação com o movimento do capital: o caso do setor de confecção em Fortaleza - Ce

Abstract

The main objective of this thesis is to study small-scale clothing manufacture in Fortaleza with regard to its relationship to the movement of capital. To do this required working in two stage: formulating a theoretical framework adequate for understanding small-scale production and carrying out field research in Fortaleza. This research took place during October and November of 1985. The theoretical definition of small-scale clothing production was developed according to the concept of formal subordination of labor to capital. Careful observation at the leveI of thelabor process reveals that the economic categories of capitalism are present, although not completely developed, since capita/'s capacity for accumulation is constrained by a limited technological base. In this sense, the concept of formal subordination is related to reduced scales of production, which determine several basic characteristics of small-scale production: a) the direct involvement of the owner in the production process, b) the use of manufacturing procedures in the work process, and c) the increase of surplus exclusively the extension of the workday. In order to perceive the development of capitalist relations, a typology hased on wage relations was adopted, since this is the basic social relationship in capitalist production. Based on the subsequent analysis labor conditions, mechanisms for subcontracting labor, raw material acquisition, the product market, and sales mechanisms, the results of the investigation of the relationships to subordination and dependency characteristic of the process of accumulation in small-scale clothing manufacture demonstrated the three characteristics mentioned above. As a result of theoretical and empirical analysis, the conclusion is that there are other conditions, besides wage relations, that are fundamental to the accumulation of capital in small manufacturing establishments, but which are negated by the existence of these links of subordination and dependece which in tum are established by the general movement of capital.