Freedom, equality, property and bentham: The debate over unfree labour

Definitional disputes may be disregarded as inconsequential aside from gett ing in the way of communicating substantive positions. In the present insta nce, such an attitude seems untenable if only because Free Labour and Capit alism are big words in wide currency. And debates involving these terms ref lect deeper differences in theoretical and historical interpretation. Thoug h, or perhaps because, a considerable part of the volume in review is energ ised by such disputes, it makes an eminently valuable contribution and prov okes many substantive questions relating to labour and class relations, bot h contemporary and especially historical. While opinion may vary whether on balance, the eighteen wide-ranging case studies in the volume shed useful light on the categories in contention and vice versa, their collective valu e transcends the debates themselves.