Colonial Labor and Theories of Inequality: The Case of International Harvester

Abstract

This is a study of minority labor practices at International Harvester from its origins to the present time. Data on these practices is presented to support the argument that minority labor has occupied a distinctly subordinate status in this company. This subordinate status is conceptualized in terms of colonial theory, which is used here as a theory of racial inequality. In addition, colonial theory is compared to other theories of inequality, including Marxist theories, and two varieties of colonial theory are described.