Author(s)
Ameya Bhatt, Dr. Ashok Ghuge
Keywords
Racial Capitalism, Dehumanization, Bodily Commodification, Global Capitalism, Working-class exploitation
Abstract
This research paper examines the dehumanization of working-class and unemployed communities in the play Harvest by Manjula Padmanabhan under racial capitalism. The paper uses the theoretical framework of racial capitalism to describe global inequality and the commodification of marginalized bodies and organs. By studying Cedric J. Robinson’s concept of racial capitalism, the study argues that the dominant class extracts the working class’s organs for the global economy and that poor people become resources for the survival of wealthy-class consumers. The relationship between the Indian donor, Om Prakash, and the Western recipient portrays inequality. It reveals the power structure, as well as the economic and technological dominance of the wealthy capitalist class. The paper further analyses organ transplants, technological dominance, and the worth of the working-class community in capitalist society. Harvest criticizes the global capitalist system that values profit over humanity. The study concludes that the play presents the ultimate exploitation of the human body, while Jaya’s refusal to fall into the trap of global capitalist dominance represents resistance to the commodification of her body.
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