Labour, self-entrepreneurship in Brazil and paradoxes of social freedom

Cinara L Rosenfield
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Cinara L Rosenfield: Department of Sociology and Postgraduate Program in Sociology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil

Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, 2018, vol. 24, issue 3, 337-352

Abstract: In this article we shall explore, in the context of flexible capitalism, emerging forms of social insertion generated by work outside the realms of wage labour, in particular, so-called ‘self-entrepreneurship’ ( autoempreendedorismo ). We shall argue that this phenomenon is related to the increase in contract-based employment, which amounts to a new employment regime. Self-management ( autogestão de si ) is both a promising pathway to social insertion through work, and a way of internalising certain values. This article presents an empirical portrait of the current state of self-entrepreneurship in Brazil, followed by reflections on Axel Honneth’s notion of social freedom in light of the realities of labour in self-entrepreneurship. The experience of being self-employed and managing oneself entails a paradox: more individual freedom, but a weakening of collective bonds and cooperative support systems.

Keywords: Self-entrepreneurship; self-management; employment rule; social freedom; collective support (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:treure:v:24:y:2018:i:3:p:337-352

DOI: 10.1177/1024258918775535

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