Riflessioni su geografia e lavoro

REFLECTIONS ABOUT GEOGRAPHY AND LABOUR. - The study of geography is profoundly intertwined with the study of labour (both as a means of production and as an agent of change as concerns the territory and its features) and, of course also as a factor of social cohesion. Nevertheless, a real labour geography does not seem to have been born yet. The essay argues in favour of the assumption that geographical analysis tends, albeit with some significant exceptions, to identify the study of labour with the study of some key variables related to work (labour cost, specialization, trade-union membership, level of legislative protection etc.). Such an approach seems to consider a geography of labour simply as part of a geography of capital. In fact capital seems to be considered the core agent for the «creation», and evolution of territory. The essay moves from the analysis of previous contributions, which have studied - either directly or indirectly - the relationship between labour and geography to discuss some of the theoretical points that seem to be particularly relevant to illustrate the outlines of a possible development of geography in this direction. Recent developments in Anglo-Saxon radical geography have shown, as this essay aims at demonstrating, the relevance of the study of labour as a real and effective actor in the definition of territory.