Capital as Subject: Global Value Chains Analysis and Labour Relations in India’s Auto Industry

Abstract

<strong></strong>It is widely recognised that labour has been downplayed in the literature on global value chains (GVCs) and global production networks (GPNs). While several scholars have tried to bring labour ‘back in’ to GVC research, others suggest this agenda does not go far enough and fails to challenge mainstream political and economic assumptions. This paper takes its cue from claims that labour is ‘co-constitutive’ in the development of GVCs/GPNs, using a case study of India’s rapidly-growing automotive industry. It goes further in arguing for a greater focus on capitalist subjectivity in the structure and organisation of GVCs. While the growing dialogue between global labour studies and GVC scholarship has emphasised labour subjectivity, there has been a tendency to underestimate the role of capital.