Capitalism and unfree labor: a review of Marxist perspectives on modern slavery

Contrary to the expectations of liberal and neoclassical economists, as well as many Marxists, the deepening and extension of capitalism appear to be heightening the prevalence of unfree labor. By most accounts, the forms of exploitation encapsulated within unfree labor – including those typically referred to as forced labor, human trafficking and modern slavery – are proliferating in the global economy, including in advanced capitalist societies. We evaluate these developments in light of the relationship between capitalism and unfree labor through the prism of Marxism, revealing a deep-seated divide between a neo-Smithian reading, according to which capitalism and unfree labor are incompatible, and a more faithful Marxist tradition that views forced labor as one possible form of labor control and exploitation under capitalism. Building on this second tradition, we argue that international political economy scholars who seek to shed light into the contemporary and historic dynamics of unfree labor must transcend the rigid theoretical binaries that have long characterized Marxist debates on capitalism and unfree labor.