De Rationibus caporali: justification and denial in emerging social representations and ideologies of caporali in migrant agricultural exploitation

Abstract

This study explores how caporali justify and deny their role in caporalato, a system of migrant labor exploitation deeply embedded in the agricultural sector. While economic and legal analyses have dominated research on caporalato, less attention has been given to the social and discursive mechanisms that sustain it. Using qualitative data from migrant workers, farmers, and agricultural entrepreneurs, the study applies a dual framework of emerging social representations and ideologies to examine how caporali construct narratives that reinforce compliance and discourage resistance. Findings reveal that justification and denial function as central discursive strategies within these representations. Justification frames caporali as necessary mediators rather than exploiters, while denial shifts responsibility away from them, minimizing or obscuring the exploitative nature of caporalato. These strategies shape workers’ perceptions, making resistance less likely. By exposing them, the study argues that efforts to dismantle caporalato must address not only legal and economic dimensions but also the discursive conditions that normalize exploitation.