The (Un)Making of the Working Class in Karachi (Pakistan), 1980s–2010s

Abstract

Ayyaz Mallick (Environmental Studies) summarizes his dissertation which aimed to understand the decline of Karachi, Pakistan’s vibrant labour movement and the proliferation of exclusivist ethnic politics in the post-1970s era. He mobilizes Marxist dialectics to delve into the polarized contemporary theoretico-political debates that pit “class” against “identity politics,” “Marxism” against “post-colonialism,” and “universal politics/emancipation” against “particularistic demands.”