asdascv

Stephanie Mott
NAS 332
Environmentalism and Economic Justice
2/23/10

A major part of the definition of subalternality is people being in economic marginality (34). “While subalternity denotes a general relationship of structured inequality resulting in a relationship of domination and subordination, the specific economic circumstances and relations may vary” (34).
“Questions of scale are crucial in identifying the various economic conditions that shape the physical environment, struggles, and identities” (35). “In this period of growing internationalization, we are all increasingly vulnerable to the aftershocks of decisions and events made in distant places” (Massey 1994) (35). “People and locales become displaced or thrown into poverty for reasons far beyond their individual control, such as investment patterns, political events, and decisions on the part of global financing” (35). “Uneven development refers to the spatial expression of capital’s patterns of investment and disinvestment which produce international, regional, and local sociospatial inequality” (35). “The results of disinvestment, or capital flight, include the loss of industry and jobs, increased levels of underemployment and unemployment, and growing poverty” (35). “Disinvestment may occur for a variety of reasons, such as militant unions, the existence of cheaper labor elsewhere, or a climate not considered sufficiently conducive to capital accumulation” (35).
In two case studies where places had large “capital investment” they were confronted with a host of new environmental problems, rapidly expanding infrastructure needs, and new sets of social relations (35). A case study ?in a place? where there was large “withdrawal of capital” the experience of disinvestment as described on pg 35 occurred (36).

“Moreover, specific forms of uneven development are associated with particular social relations (such as those found in colonialism) in which one place directly benefits from the resources of another, often leading to stunted or disarticulated economies” ( 36). Colonialism and contemporary uneven development help account for the immigration of Mexican workers to California ( 36). Mexican workers have been leaving a place of limited economic opportunity for a site of rich capital investment for decades ( 36).

“Place is as important as one’s skills and economic position in determining if and how one’s basic needs are met, and the degree of social and political power accompanying one’s economic status ( 36).