How are the clothes we wear produced? Where? By whom and under what conditions? At what cost? And who profits?

These are only a few of the questions political economist Ashok Kumar takes up in his latest book, Monopsony Capitalism (“monopsony” referring to “the unequal power dynamic of many sellers and only a few buyers“).

Today on the show, Thursday host Allen Ruff speaks with Ashok about the global garment and footwear sectors, why we might be nearing “the twilight of the sweatshop age,” and the way forward out of capitalism.

Ashok Kumar is a senior lecturer (associate professor) of political economy at Birkbeck, University of London. He is the author of Monopsony Capitalism: Power and Production in the Twilight of the Sweatshop Age (Cambridge University Press, 2020).

Cover photo by Rio Lecatompessy on Unsplash

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