Guy Standings book “The Precariat” is a theory defining the changes of class we are facing in the UK today. He identifies what he calls “the new dangerous class; The Proletariat” he defines them as a socio-economic class/ poorest class who suffer from work insecurity. Guy standing argues that the precariat is NOT an underclass. It is a class in the making not yet a class for itself (as Marx would have said).
What is the Precariat:
Guy Standing emphasizes that the precariat is NOT an underclass, it does not consist of all those suffering from social illnesses it is a class in the making not yet a class for itself (as Marx would have said) in the sense that they experience similar sorts of insecurities but do not have a common vision of a good type of society they would …show more content…
Often migrants, politically detached and passive
2. Educated young people who are frustrated
-
Who is in the precariat?
- We are all in danger of being in the precariat
- One accident away from the precariat
- There are certain groups that have a higher chance of being in the precariat for example youth, women, disabled and growing number of people who are criminalised.
- Incarceration crisis.
- The migrants who are both increasingly seen as villains.
Why is it growing?
- The crash
- 3 forms of flexibility
1. Numerical flexibility - we must make our labour markets more flexible by reducing workers rights. Loss in a big form of security
2. Growth of wage flexibility – not just lowering wages, stripping the elements of social income away from the growing precariat. As the precariat has taken shape they have been losing access to secure benefits from the state. Soleriat have been gaining these benefits. “Poverty trap”. In 33 US states they are introducing a URIN test for eligibility for benefits. So drug tests may mean that you cannot have the benefits. Precarity trap – Glasgow benefits person
What is the Precariat:
Guy Standing emphasizes that the precariat is NOT an underclass, it does not consist of all those suffering from social illnesses it is a class in the making not yet a class for itself (as Marx would have said) in the sense that they experience similar sorts of insecurities but do not have a common vision of a good type of society they would …show more content…
Often migrants, politically detached and passive
2. Educated young people who are frustrated
-
Who is in the precariat?
- We are all in danger of being in the precariat
- One accident away from the precariat
- There are certain groups that have a higher chance of being in the precariat for example youth, women, disabled and growing number of people who are criminalised.
- Incarceration crisis.
- The migrants who are both increasingly seen as villains.
Why is it growing?
- The crash
- 3 forms of flexibility
1. Numerical flexibility - we must make our labour markets more flexible by reducing workers rights. Loss in a big form of security
2. Growth of wage flexibility – not just lowering wages, stripping the elements of social income away from the growing precariat. As the precariat has taken shape they have been losing access to secure benefits from the state. Soleriat have been gaining these benefits. “Poverty trap”. In 33 US states they are introducing a URIN test for eligibility for benefits. So drug tests may mean that you cannot have the benefits. Precarity trap – Glasgow benefits person