Who Are the Super-Exploited? Gender, Race, and the Intersectional Potentialities of Dependency Theory

Abstract

Is dependency theory gender- and race-blind? Appearing in Latin American in the 1960s, dependency theory flourished in a moment when social sciences at large began to embrace critical approaches centered on race and gender. However, with the exception of the pioneering work of Vânia Bambirra, original dependency writers did not engage directly with the systemic consequences of entrenched gender and race inequalities. Instead, anti-racist and anti-patriarchal struggles were subsumed under the class struggle. In this article, I argue that, although gender and race inequalities were not in fact among the core concerns of dependency theory, there is a fundamental complementarity between feminist, anti-racist, and anti-colonial approaches and dependency theory, at least in its most radical, Marxist expression. Specifically, Marini’s concept of the super-exploitation of labor and Bambirra’s concept of ‘dominated–dominant’ ruling classes call for gendered and racialized definitions of the super-exploited and the Latin American ruling classes. By expanding the scope of these two key concepts, I invite contemporary scholars to explore the intersectional potentialities of dependency theory.