From autonomous to autonomist geographies

Gray, N. and Clare, N. (2022) From autonomous to autonomist geographies. Progress in Human Geography, 46(5), pp. 1185-1206. (doi: 10.1177/03091325221114347)

Abstract

Autonomist Marxist ideas and concepts are resurgent and, with their latent spatiality, are well placed to contribute to radical geographical debates. In particular, the methodology of ‘class composition’ analysis provides a rigorous, materialist critique of transforming capitalist social relations. This paper first provides vital historical–theoretical context from the milieu of Italian Operaismo, before emphasising the value of autonomist Marxist analyses of three contemporary geographical frontiers: labour process, migration, and social reproduction. It ultimately argues that the laudable motivations of the autonomous geographies project, explored in this very journal, would be better served through an explicitly materialist autonomist geography.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Gray, Dr Neil
• Authors: Gray, N., and Clare, N.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School > Management
• Journal Name: Progress in Human Geography
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• ISSN: 0309-1325
• ISSN (Online): 1477-0288
• Published Online: 12 July 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Progress in Human Geography 46(5): 1195-1206
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License