The Subjective Revolution: Society and Culture in Post 2008 Spain Marta M. Lobato Rodríguez
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ADVERTIMENT. Lʼaccés als continguts dʼaquesta tesi queda condicionat a lʼacceptació de les condicions dʼús establertes per la següent llicència Creative Commons: http://cat.creativecommons.org/?page_id=184 ADVERTENCIA. El acceso a los contenidos de esta tesis queda condicionado a la aceptación de las condiciones de uso establecidas por la siguiente licencia Creative Commons: http://es.creativecommons.org/blog/licencias/ WARNING. The access to the contents of this doctoral thesis it is limited to the acceptance of the use conditions set by the following Creative Commons license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/?lang=en The Subjective Revolution: Society and Culture in post 2008 Spain Marta M. Lobato Rodríguez Ph.D. Dissertation, Doctoral Programme in Social and Cultural Anthropology Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology Supervisors: José Luis Molina and Hugo Valenzuela-García Facultat de Filosofia i Lletres Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) June 2018 The Subjective Revolution: Society and Culture in post 2008 Spain 2 The Subjective Revolution: Society and Culture in post 2008 Spain To my grandmother, Paquita. A mi abuela Paquita, 3 The Subjective Revolution: Society and Culture in post 2008 Spain 4 The Subjective Revolution: Society and Culture in post 2008 Spain Acknowledgements As with all works of this importance, there are many people to acknowledge. I would like to firstly thank my family; my mum and my brother, Nieves and Alberto, for always telling me that I could do it. My aunt and uncle: Marta and Ricardo, for without them I do not know if I would have made it to a doctoral program in the first place. Thank you to the ones that are not here anymore. To my father and my grandparents, whose memory breathes in every page of this work. Thank you to my supervisors, Dr José Luis Molina and Dr Hugo Valenzuela-Garcia, for their support throughout all these years, for the memorable moments during fieldwork and for always seeking the best for me. Thank you especially to José Luis, with whom I held numerous conversations over lunch and coffee throughout these years which were far more important than he thinks. Thank you for the comradeship, the moments of sudden realization, the care, and the knowledge and work you were always ready to share. Thank you to my colleagues of the department of anthropology; Judith, Sara, Paula, Nacho, and Angelina, and to professors Miranda Lubbers and Virginia Fons. A special thanks to Vicente and Isabel, for all those moments of laughter and interesting debates. Thank you also to colleagues from outside the university, especially to Hanna (Hungary), Alejandro and Julieta (Mexico), Giacomo (Italy), Luminita-Anda (Romania), Luca (Germany), and Ceren (Turkey). Their company at very different stages of the PhD was again, more important than they will ever know. Thank you to all those that helped me in the Cypriot side. Thank you to Gregoris Ioannou, Maria Hadjimichael and Savvas Christofides, Savva and Christina, thank you for all those talks in Antigonou, where I learned so much about life. Thank you to Charlotte Marshall, Zac Hassan and Sophie Petri. Thank you for the talks, the visits, the memories, and the certainty that we will remain friends forever. Thank also to my dear friends in Barcelona; Ainhoa Molina, Alicia Paramita and Carlos Pacheco. Thank you to my UWC family. It was in our 10 year meeting in Norway that I was reminded of the great challenges I have been able to overcome in the past. Thank you to the Norwegian landscapes and to Flekkefjord, for always being a source of inspiration. Thank you to Professor Chris Hann, for supporting my application to the Max Planck Institute. My experience at the MPI was incredibly valuable. And lastly, thank you to Eduard, for his patience and his understanding in these difficult past two years. Thank you. 5 The Subjective Revolution: Society and Culture in post 2008 Spain Agradecimientos Como siempre ocurre con trabajos de esta envergadura, hay muchas personas a las que tengo mucho que agradecer. Me gustaría primero agradecer a mi familia; mi madre y mi hermano, Nieves y Alberto, su apoyo incondicional. A mis tíos Marta y Ricardo, porque sin ellos no sé si hubiera llegado a hacer un doctorado en primer lugar. Gracias también a aquellos que ya no están aquí. A mi padre y a mis abuelos, cuya memoria respira en cada página de esta tesis. Gracias a mis directores de tesis, José Luis Molina y Hugo Valenzuela, por su apoyo durante todos estos años, por los momentos memorables que pasamos en el campo, y por siempre querer lo mejor para mí. Mi agradecimiento especial a José Luis, por todos aquellos debates a lo largo de estos años en el comedor de la facultad o con un café. Aquellas conversaciones fueron mucho más importantes de lo que él se imagina. Gracias JL, por el compañerismo, los momentos de iluminación teórica, tu interés, y por siempre estar dispuesto a compartir tus conocimientos. Gracias a mis compañeros de antropología; a Judith, Sara, Paula, Nacho, y Angelina; también a las profesoras Miranda Lubbers y Virginia Fons. Mi especial agradecimiento también a Isabel y a Vicente, por todos esos momentos de risas y de conversaciones interesantes. Gracias también a compañeros de otros lugares, con los que coincidí en algún momento; a Hanna (Hungría), Alejandro y Julieta (México), Giacomo (Italia), Luminita-Anda (Rumanía), y Luca (Hungría). Su compañía y apoyo en diferentes momentos del doctorado fue esencial. Mis agradecimientos a todos aquellos que me ayudaron en Chipre. Gracias a Gregoris Ioannou, Maria Hadjimichael y a Savvas Christofides. Savva y Christina, gracias por todas aquellas charlas en Antigonou, donde aprendí tantas cosas sobre la vida. Gracias a Charlotte Marshall, Zac Hassan y Sophie Petri. Gracias por las conversaciones, vuestras visitas, y por la certeza de que siempre mantendremos nuestra amistad. Gracias a mis queridos amigos de Barcelona; Ainhoa Molina, Alicia Paramita, Vicente Peñarroja y Carlos Pacheco. Mis agradecimientos a la familia de Colegios del Mundo Unido. Fue en nuestro reencuentro de los 10 años en Noruega que me di cuenta de los retos ‘imposibles’ que he sido capaz de superar. Gracias a las montañas Noruegas, y al fiordo de Flekke, por ser siempre fuentes de inspiración. Gracias al Profesor Chris Hann, por apoyar mi candidatura a la beca para el Max Planck. Mi experiencia allí fue inolvidable. Y para terminar, gracias a Eduard, por su paciencia y su comprensión en estos dos últimos años tan difíciles. Gracias, gracias a todos/as. 6 The Subjective Revolution: Society and Culture in post 2008 Spain Abstract The research upon which this thesis is based took place in the context of the economic crisis that hit Southern Europe and other regions of the world in 2008. Considering the changes that scholars were pointing at, such as the further de-regulation of the labour market, the cuts in public spending, and the rising levels of inequality, I sought to find specific answers to the questions: In what ways have socio-economic transformations following the crisis changed the lives of ‘middle’ and ‘lower-middle’ segments of the Spanish and Cypriot societies? And, what are the structural and qualitative foundations (ideas, narratives, beliefs) informing these new inequalities? For this purpose, fieldwork was carried out in different settings and locations in Spain, and to a lesser extent, in Cyprus. This thesis proposes that experiences of precarious work, and the increasing difficulties with managing the productive and reproductive life spheres, have created a disjuncture with the middle-class project that European welfare states pursued after the 70s with the rise of financialization and global capitalism. Despite the continuities of this project, recent processes have led to rising inequalities between the middle and lower-income groups. As a way of sustaining class expectations, the so called ‘middle classes’ emerge once again as a symbolic class that stands much closer to the neoliberal ideals of the elites than to the truly dispossessed. In today’s flexibility paradigm, we see a restructuring of what I term ‘the political economy of values’ and the expectations that prompt workers to sell their labour. The thesis title “The subjective revolution” encapsulates the cultural world through which symbols are mobilized and re-invented, alluding to the incredible resourcefulness with which the dispossessed middle-income groups have reacted to the crisis and its aftermath. What is the mechanism by which such a restructuring of the political economy of values is taking place? By understanding that this recent wave of worsening labour conditions has required a new ‘abstraction’ of labour value through cultural and symbolic means, I conclude that further alienation prevents people from identifying current political practices with ‘unfreedom’. Thus, I conclude that the idea of the flexible worker was brought into play again after the 2008 financial crash as a symbol whose purpose is to keep the cultural aspirations of this symbolic class awake and its politics asleep. 7 The Subjective Revolution: Society and Culture in post 2008 Spain Resumen La investigación que sustenta esta tesis se sitúa en el contexto de la crisis económica del 2008, la cual tuvo un gran impacto en los países del sur de Europa, así como en otras regiones del mundo. Considerando sus principales consecuencias, como son la desregulación del mercado laboral, la retirada de fondos de inversión pública y el aumento de las desigualdades, esta tesis se propuso encontrar respuestas a preguntas tales como: ¿de qué manera han afectado los cambios socioeconómicos a aquellos segmentos de la sociedad que podríamos llamar de medianos y bajos ingresos en España y Chipre? y ¿cuáles son las bases estructurales y culturales (ideas, narrativas, creencias) sobre las que se están construyendo estas desigualdades? Con el propósito de encontrar respuestas a estas preguntas, llevé a cabo trabajo de campo en diferentes localidades de España y, en menor medida, en Chipre.