What can 16th century Africa tell us about Amazon’s 21st century global supply chain model? A new study led by UC Irvine sociologist David Smith examines how patterns of labor exploitation and racial capitalism established 500 years ago inform and shape e-logistics worldwide supply chain strategies today.

“For a decade and a half, we’ve been exploring new ways to reformat theoretical understandings of ‘global commodity chains,’” says Smith. “Our current work affirmatively answers two big, specific questions: What can world-system analysis of the role of Africa in the creation of the historic colonial world-economy tell us about Amazon’s model of control of capitalist global supply chains in the 21st century?  And how did patterns established by European imperialism and enslavement of Africans create long lasting continuities of racial capitalism and migration dominance and control that are used by Amazon to profit today?”

“While the focus of this article is on issues of racism, migration and resistance - beginning with an historical story about African-centered world slavery in the 16th century - the key message is that today Amazon executives learn how to apply similar models to recruit and retain workers in contemporary warehouses and fulfillment centers in places like southern California and elsewhere in the United States.”

Findings are published in Critical Sociology. Coauthors include Paul S. Ciccantell, sociology professor, Western Michigan University; Spencer Louis Potiker, ’23 UCI global and international studies Ph.D. and current ethnic studies and sociology instructor, Columbia College; Elizabeth A. Sowers, sociology associate professor, California State University Channel Islands; and Luc McKenzie, sociology Ph.D. candidate, UC Irvine.

The researchers combined a world-system analysis approach with critical logistics studies to better understand the foundations of modern racial capitalism. Their work highlights the high degree of socioeconomic and political development in many African states before the colonial period, emphasizing the history that European colonial powers sought to ignore or discount to justify first the massive, forced labor migration of the Transatlantic slave trade and then their colonial exploitation of the continent, says Smith.

“We wanted to show the continuities between earlier long periods of global integration and our current moment in terms of the exploitation of racialized and precarious workers,” says Potiker. “Drawing on broad theoretical ideas of history we linked early modes of racialized exploitation such as slavery and colonization with modern modes of racialized labor such as the overrepresentation of workers of color and immigrant labor in low paying highly precarious positions at various warehouses run by Amazon in this country.”

The data in the article draws on research the team conducted on Amazon - observations of operations, interviews with managers and workers, active participation with stakeholders in several facilities, labor organizations, and communities - that highlights how the retail giant - and others before it - employs similar strategies of resource extraction, labor segmentation, and capital accumulation.

“Our research team did studies of Amazon run warehouses in the local Inland Empire, across the border from Mexico and a few other places,” Smith explains. “We find that today’s logistics networks are primarily run by white men supervising large labor forces of women and people of color in a variety of low-level/poorly paid jobs where often risk of injury is also a factor. These racialized workers often also have precarious citizenship status, meager labor protection – and in some sites many are migrant workers.”

Findings also point to critical nodes within modern day networks that present opportunities for collective mobilization.

“We hope that this research can contribute to ongoing efforts to organize workers at Amazon,” says Potiker. “While Amazon targets a racialized labor force, often with precarious citizenship statuses, there are no shortages of historical examples that show precarious labor mobilizing to gain more rights for themselves in the workplace.”

The study is available in full online at  https://journals.sagepub.com/action/doSearch?ContribRaw=Smith%2C+David+A&SeriesKey=crsb.