Abstract
The purpose of this article is to show that the concept of subalternity is a good starting point for the study of stratification. This concept had already been used by Gramsci (1992, 1996), Guha (1982), Spivak (1988), and Darity (2020), while I give it a meaning that is both broader and more precise than theirs. For me, subalterns are those who endure structural violence. By definition, this form of violence is not interpersonal in nature, but it is culturally and institutionally embedded. Seen in this way, the concept of subalternity offers four great advantages. First, it enables to delineate the scope of the analysis of stratification. Second, it makes it possible to grasp the state of people deprived of their agency, whatever their situation: poverty, exclusion, inferiority, vulnerability, and so on. Third, it allows for the complexity of stratification to be taken into consideration. Actually, the various forms of stratification are, in most cases, entangled and cannot easily be detached from one another. Finally, since it subsumes the different approaches on the matter, it can serve as a basis for discussion between scholars from various fields and theoretical backgrounds. The perspective of the paper is both conceptual and empirical. Three sets of examples (on the position of women, on the issue of education, and on the position of ethnic minorities) are provided to illustrate its theoretical dimension.
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Notes
In Sen’s terminology, the term capability covers a person’s ability “to do” or “to be” that is to say what a person is able or would be able to do or to be, facing a set of opportunities. The capability approach has been pioneered by Sen (1979) and developed in other further works. It has also been adopted by the World Bank which refers specifically to Sen’s works. According to the World Bank, “empowerment is the expansion of freedom of choice and action. It (…) is the expansion of assets and capabilities of poor people to participate in, negotiate with, influence, control, and hold accountable institutions that affect their lives” (Deepa 2002: 14, emphasis by the author).
“Primary goods [are] things that every rational man is presumed to want. These goods normally have a use whatever a person’s rational plan of life” (Rawls 1971 [1999]: 54).
Individual earnings have been estimated by Mincer (1958, 1974) who proposed a function for assessing them:
ln y = β0 + β1 s + β2 x - β3 x2 + u.
The Mincer earnings function expresses the natural logarithm of earnings (ln y) as an increasing function of the number of years of study (s) and experience in the labor market (x) and as a decreasing function of the square of the latter variable. Mincer’s function also takes into account other unobserved variables (u). The positive effect refers to the fact that the higher the general (s) and specific (x) human capital of an individual, the higher her earnings. The negative effect means that individuals tend to invest less and less in training as their working lives progress. As for the coefficients β0, β1, and β3, they are estimated from data containing, for each individual in a representative sample, earnings, education, and labor market experience.
Functionings constitute the actual achievements of a person. To put it otherwise, they are the achieved part of a person’s capabilities. So, capabilities refer to what is potential (i.e., feasible) and functionings refer to what is effective (i.e., achieved).
HALDE was an acronym used for “Haute Autorité de Lutte contre les Discriminations et pour l’Egalité” (“French Equal Opportunities and Anti-Discrimination Commission”).
According to the article 71–1 of the French Constitution, “The Defender of Rights shall ensure the due respect of rights and freedoms by state administrations, territorial communities, public legal entities, as well as by all bodies carrying out a public service mission or by those that the Institutional Act decides fall within his remit.”.
It is noteworthy that it is the opposite for applicants perceived as Christians. For them, perceived religiosity works favorably toward getting a job.
The humorist Dave Chappelle nicely touched on the relations between Black people and the police: “See, Black people are very afraid of the police. That is a big part of our culture. Don't matter how rich you are, how old you are… We’re just afraid of ‘em. We got–we got every reason to be afraid of’em” (Chappelle 2000).
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Acknowledgements
This article is a several times revised version of another article presented at the 18th working session of the Political Economy Seminar of the CEPN (Sorbonne Paris North University). I am thankful to Philippe Batifoulier, Hannah Bensussan, Benjamin Bürbaumer, Tom Duterme, and Nicolas Pinsard for their questions, criticism, and constructive feedback. I would also like to thank Stefan Kesting, the anonymous referees, as well as Erik de Baedts, Laurent Baronian, Laurent Carnis, Jay Drydyck, Quentin Duroy, Sylvie Lupton, Jan Willem Noldus, and Mehrdad Vahabi for taking the time to read the essay as well as their valuable comments and suggestions on earlier drafts. Or course, all remaining errors and shortcomings are mine.
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El Karouni, I. Thinking out stratification: the concept of subalternity. Rev Evol Polit Econ 3, 629–642 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43253-022-00079-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43253-022-00079-2