The Precariat: Today’s Transformative Class?

Guy Standing ()
Additional contact information
Guy Standing: University of London

Development, 2018, vol. 61, issue 1, 115-121

Abstract: Abstract Since 1980, the global economy has undergone a dramatic transformation, with the globalization of the labour force, the rise of automation, and—above all—the growth of Big Finance, Big Pharma, and Big Tech. The social democratic consensus of the immediate postwar years has given way to a new phase of capitalism that is leaving workers further behind and reshaping the class structure. The precariat, a mass class defined by unstable labour arrangements, lack of identity, and erosion of rights, is emerging as today’s ‘dangerous class.’ As its demands cannot be met within the current system, the precariat carries transformative potential. To realize that potential, however, the precariat must awaken to its status as a class and fight for a radically changed income distribution that reclaims the commons and guarantees a livable income for all. Without transformative action, a dark political era looms.

Keywords: Precariat; Financialization; Universal basic income; Class structure; Class conflict; Rentier capitalism; Social contract (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41301-018-0182-5 Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:develp:v:61:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1057_s41301-018-0182-5

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... es/journal/41301/PS2

DOI: 10.1057/s41301-018-0182-5

Access Statistics for this article

Development is currently edited by Stefano Prato

More articles in Development from Palgrave Macmillan, Society for International Deveopment Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().