Capitalism, Unfree Labor and Colonial Doxa: The Master and Servant Act from Britain to Hong Kong, 1823–1932.

The Master and Servant Act was a law that allowed the use of penal sanction against workers for breach of contract in nineteenth century Britain. For scholars who believe that wage laborers under capitalism are free from “extra-economic” coercion, this law was an anomaly. One explanation suggests technological backwardness during the early stages of capitalism as the cause. In this paper I will challenge this account and offer an alternative explanation. As the British Empire expanded, the same law was enacted in many British colonies. If it was the process of capitalist production that rendered the Master and Servant Act necessary, this explanation should also apply to the British colonies. By focusing on Hong Kong, I show that this was not the case. Instead, I show that the use of judiciary coercion could be explained by Bourdieu's notions of doxa, habitus and field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]