Racial Capitalism, Social Reproduction, and Migrant Workers: The Use of ‘Difference’ in the Globalized Neoliberal Era

• In Event: Dynamic Demographics and Ecosystems

Abstract

This study examines the intersection of neoliberalism, migration, and social reproduction, focusing on the exploitation of female migrant domestic workers. It highlights the plight of racialized women from the global South, who face systemic exploitation by global North states, particularly Canada. Using a Marxist political economy approach, the research expands the theory of primitive accumulation to introduce “expansion by expulsion,” a model illustrating how capitalism perpetuates violence by keeping migrant workers in perpetual temporariness.

Under neoliberalism, migrant workers—primarily racialized women—are rendered surplus labor to sustain the reproduction needs of the global North. The study explores “double expulsion,” where women in the global North lose autonomy over unpaid reproductive labor while women from the global South are expelled to fulfill these needs. This process exemplifies the feminization of international migration.

Nationalist policies and border controls, including Canada’s Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP), sustain this cycle by positioning migrant workers as disposable. The neoliberal economy deliberately limits their rights, reducing them to transient laborers while remittances shift reproduction burdens to the global South. This arrangement benefits capital while disadvantaging sending states such as Mexico and the Philippines.

Globalization and neoliberal policies have eroded welfare states, privatizing reproduction and reinforcing gendered labor divisions. Female migrant workers, often invisible, fill critical gaps in state provisioning, yet remain precarious. This study calls for a critical reassessment of neoliberal migration policies, advocating for fairer, more just approaches to social reproduction and labor rights.

Author

• Thuva Navaratnam, McMaster University