DigitalUM :: Browsing by Subject "Affective Capitalism"

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Al calor del amor en un bar. Explotación, trabajo y plusvalía emocional en la España turística
(Universidad de Murcia. Servicio de Publicaciones, 2026) Rueda Córdoba, F. Javier; Sin departamento asociado
This article analyzes contemporary mechanisms of labor exploitation in the hospitality sector, focusing on the emotional labor performed by waitresses and waiters in bars, cafes, and restaurants in Madrid. Based on a corpus of 43 interviews, two key metaphors are identified—the bar as a factory and the bar as a theater—which allow us to unravel how affective management becomes a central dimension of work. In dialogue with Marxist theory of exploitation and the feminist affective turn, the concept of emotional surplus value is developed as a specific form of value extraction based on unpaid and contractually unrecognized emotional effort. This surplus value, which is extratemporal and intangible, increases corporate profits without altering working hours or wages. The article argues that these practices intensify the emotional precariousness of mostly feminized and racialized workers, and challenges the limits of classical Marxist theory in explaining contemporary exploitation. Finally, the tensions betweenemotional authenticity, productive efficiency, and the day-to-day management of the bar are discussed, proposing an intersectional reading of new forms of work and their possible resistance.