Middlemen and Marginalization: Analyzing the Social Consequences of Economic Exploitation in the Kisii Soapstone Industry, Kenya

Abstract

The objective of this paper was to investigate how middlemen’s economic exploitation of soapstone carvers shaped the social fabric of their community. It examined the ripple effects of this economic injustice—poverty, resentment, and social division—among the carvers. Ultimately, the study aimed to reveal how unequal trade relations eroded both livelihoods and social harmony. The analysis was grounded in Marxian theory, which provided a framework for understanding the class struggles between the middlemen—who controlled and profited from the soapstone trade—and the working-class carvers, who remained underpaid and marginalized. Ultimately, the study established that such exploitative dynamics resulted in economic deprivation, thereby restricting access to quality education and healthcare among the affected communities. To investigate these concerns, the study utilized both primary and secondary sources. It involved interviews with a randomly selected group of 30 respondents drawn from soapstone carvers and miners. These sources provided firsthand insights into the social impact of economic exploitation. The findings revealed that most of these intermediaries were privately owned companies and wholesalers who purchased carvings from local carvers at ridiculously low prices, only to resell them at exorbitant rates in international markets. This systematic exploitation trapped the carvers in cycles of poverty, giving rise to a host of social problems. Equally, lack of fair compensation bred animosity between the haves and the have-nots, deepening social divisions among the carvers. Similarly, widespread poverty followed, driving many into desperate survival strategies. Consequently, crime, poor access to healthcare, and prostitution surged—intensifying the spread of HIV and AIDS within the soapstone carving communities. Moreover, the study found out that poverty curtailed access to education, as many parents could neither afford school fees nor meet basic medical needs.