From structural breakage to political reintegration of the working class: relative surplus population layers in Argentina and their involvement in the Piqueter Movement

Abstract

In this paper we develop the Marxist notion of relative surplus population (RSP) to analyse the fracturing of the Argentinean working class. The Marxist concept of RSP refers to all the labouring population that capital cannot employ productively. In other words, RSP is formed by all the unemployed and underemployed workers, and by all the proletarians whose work does not achieve the median productivity of their branch and, for this reason, does not correspond with the socially necessary labour time. We examine the different layers of the RSP in Argentina ?with some notes to establish comparisons with other countries- and their political behaviour. Finally, we analyse the development of the Argentinean Piqueter Movement that tried to establish an alliance between employed and unemployed workers. We highlight the potentialities and the limits of this initiative, especially regarding the organization and integration of the different layers of the RSP.