População em situação de rua e mundo do trabalho: um estudo a partir de pesquisas do Serviço Social

Abstract

This undergraduate thesis addresses the homeless population and its relationship with the world of work. It is an exploratory study, based on a narrative review of the literature, which discusses conceptions on the subject drawing from two studies grounded in Marx’s theory of the process of capital accumulation. It analyzes the constitution of wage labor and the formation of a surplus labor force that is not absorbed by the accumulation needs of capitalism. This surplus results from the continuous development of the productive forces which, in seeking to increase productivity, employ fewer and fewer workers. The discussion on the world of work encompasses individuals who, in this context, are unable to sell their labor power and reproduce their means of subsistence. The increasing weight of machinery in the organic composition of capital, the automation of production, and the system’s recurring crises expand the contingent of surplus population, which includes the homeless population. The reflections developed conclude that the general law of capitalist accumulation is central to understanding the social reality in which this population is situated. Its social reproduction stems from a model of organization that is not guided by human needs, but by the pursuit of greater value accumulation. On this basis, the study analyzes current aspects such as recent transformations in the world of work and in social policies, as well as exploring the different Marxist perspectives on these transformations. Therefore, the continuous growth of the homeless population, by concretely representing human disposability in the capitalist system, reveals that the structural elements of work in this system remain insurmountable as long as capitalism exists.