Migrant Labour and Their “Capitalist Compatriots”: Towards a History of Ethnic Capitalism

The relationship between migration and Australian capitalism has long been a topic of robust scholarly debate in sociology and economics. Researchers in those fields have highlighted how migration has left an indelible imprint on Australian capitalism. By contrast, Australian migration histories have given scant attention to the role ethnic groups played in Australian capitalism. This lack of attention is particularly curious in historical studies of Greek Australia given the significance of small business in facilitating migration and settlement. From Federation onwards, Greek ethnic capitalism - or, more precisely, the relations between Greek migrant labourers and their petite bourgeoisie employers - became a topic of media coverage. In fact, the relations between Greek workers and employers were so important that newspapers routinely reported on the subject. This article examines this media coverage, its racialist and criminalising connotations, and historical relevance. It concludes with some observations on how histories of capitalism can productively engage with the histories of ethnicisation.

'MEETING OF WATERS'? THE COMPLEX LANDSCAPE OF THE POLISH RIGHT TO THE CITY ACTIVISM

For over a decade, the explosion of various forms of urban activism has been observed: so- called urban social movements or the right to the city (RTTC) movements actively participate in the realm of non-institutional politics. This trend has been observed both world-wide and in Europe, particularly in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Poland is also a clear example of this tendency. The paper presented aims to achieve two goals. First of all, it is based on desk research and offers a broad literature overview, indicating the main directions and results in urban activism research in Poland of the last 10 years. Recalling and discussing the broadest possible body of literature, with particular emphasis on Polish-language references, should be useful for international readers and researchers. Secondly, the paper attempts to synthesize these current research results, including the authors own research results, identifying the complexity of the field of urban activism. As a result, it points to various entities using the RTTC slogan in their social struggles, consequently identifying two main types of RTTC activism: radical and middle-class (petite bourgeoisie?) movements.

The German variety of grocery retailing: A historical institutionalist analysis of a non-core industry

This article undertakes a historical institutionalist analysis of the German grocery retail industry. It shows that the institutions that shape this non-core industry are not just modifications of those that shape German export-oriented manufacturing core industries. Retail institutions are fundamentally different, and many of them do not promote coordinated relationships of firms. This challenges the assumption of comparative capitalisms research that all-encompassing national institutions characterize Germany as a coordinated market economy. Further, retail institutions have developed their specific characteristics not just over the last decades, as theories of dualization might suggest. Rather, they are frequently rooted in a German petite bourgeoisie or Mittelstand tradition reaching back to the 19th century. A second critical period was the 1960s and early 1970s, when political struggles that resulted from the retail revolution further transformed retail institutions. Based on the literature from various academic disciplines and on original empirical research, the article reconstructs the historical development of the whole set of institutions that has shaped a specific German grocery retail structure dominated by retailers’ cooperatives and hard discount chains. The analysis of an important non-core industry also intends to contribute to a fuller understanding of the institutions that frame the German economy as a whole, including conceivable complementarities between core and non-core sector institutions.

Symbolics of the novel “The Woman of Rome” by Alberto Moravia

This article analyzes the novel “The Woman of Rome” (1947) by the Italian author of the XX century Alberto Moravia. As in his other novels, Moravia features a one reflexing character, creating an authorial intention in the oeuvre. The article examines special symbolics in the novel. The events take place in the 1940’s, during the Fascism era in Italy: the heroine is a victim of indifference and cruelty of the society and her own weakness, inability to refuse material gains, defend her values and dreams. Emphasis is also made on interaction between the social classes. Unlike the heroes of other novels of Alberto Moravia, Adriana loses her place in the society, changing her behavioral patterns and undergoing reassessment of values. Each character interacting with her can be interpreted as a symbol, representative of a certain class they belong to. And each of them exploit and impact her in their own way. The text in question can be considered as neo-realistic or existential. The author also underlines common traits of the protagonists of Moravia’s novels. For example, Cesira the heroine of the novel “Two Women” (“La Ciociara”, 1957) belongs to petite bourgeoisie, she also experience the transformation of life attitudes, having become a witness of dehumanization of people and overall indifference towards the fate of the country; but unlike Adriana, who is a victim, she manifests in role of a witness. The scientific novelty consists in analysis of symbolics of the novel and correlation between fate of the heroine and fate of the country. The heroines in the works of Alberto Moravia symbolize Fascist era in Italy differently; only in case with Adriana she personifies the changes, reaching the moral decline and perverting her inner self under the influence of fascism. Analysis is conducted on peculiarities of narration in the novel: her story can be perceived as a confession, or as a conversation with an understanding friend. This softens the perception of tragic events in the novel, since in increases the level of trust of the audience to the heroine. Symbolics of the novel includes the images of Madonna and Danaë (Titian’s painting).

Distinguishing Maternity Shoots on Instagram: Capital, Class, Field

This study is aimed at analyzing maternity shoots as a lifestyle habit and its relation with social class. Lifestyle is manifested in tastes, philosophical and morality beliefs, aesthetic tastes, clothes and cultures which become characteristics of a class. Meanwhile, cultural consumption expenditure signifies social classes. This study found that there are efforts to distinguish one’s status from other classes through maternity shoot practice, as part of power strategy. There are two classes studied in this research, namely petite-bourgeoisie and popular class, both of which seek to embrace the dominant class’ culture. By dispensing economic and cultural capital in Instagram as its field, the petite-bourgeoisie show how they are able to reap profits in form of positive appreciation and symbolic capital. Meanwhile, the popular class fails to achieve the same success in the Instagram field, marked by minimum appreciation toward their pictures. Nevertheless, bodies of pregnant women within the two classes have been subdued by Instagram convention as a game arena. The study also tested specific practices of pregnant women to represent their self-identity. Using consumer culture theory, it can be seen how pregnant women spend capital to establish their self-identity as a perfect woman, perfected by their pregnancy.