Fordist Absences: Madrid's Right to Housing Movement as Labor Struggle

Abstract

AbstractThroughout the literature on contemporary populism in Europe, scholars point to increasing precarity brought about by post-Fordist labor relations as a central component in outrage on both the Left and the Right. Focusing on the case of Madrid and its right to housing movement, I instead argue that current mobilizations need to be understood as the product of the long absence of Fordist urban economic arrangements. I demonstrate how the working class was only able to attain full membership in the city during the recent economic boom. With the property crash, that membership appeared fleeting, triggering both inequality and outrage. Ultimately, I insist on the role of housing in the production of class formation and subjectivities.