Essay On Precariat

Great Essays
Having a sound income and a stable job is crucial and essential for humankind in order to survive in this world. Most people in New Zealand earn proper incomes, have decent jobs and are able to live their lives comfortably. However, what most people do not realize is that the number of poor and precariats are increasing, which is why it is important to look at this issue in more depth and to understand why precarity exists. With the help of Guy Standing and his books, we can further examine and explore these concepts.

Section One

The world’s economy today is in the middle of a global transformation, which is generating a new global class structure. According to Standing (2011), the precariat can be defined in two ways. One is the barbarian approach that precariat is a different and distinctive social group or socio-economic class-in-the-making, so a person can be either a part of it or not. Another way is to see it as a process of precariatisation where model behaviour, expectations and insecurities changes (MHC Mc2012Culloch Center, 2012). The precariat is a certain group of people living without well-paid work and lack of resources.
…show more content…
We can determine seven groups: the elite, salariat, proficians, shrinking working class (which is one of the reasons why the welfare state was built) and below these four groups comes the precariat (Standing, 2011). The precariat is not at the bottom, as the unemployed and lumpen precariat comes below it. It is not an underclass, as it was wanted by global capitalism and needed for the system that is being established (MHC Mc2012Culloch Center, 2012). Standing (2011), has characterized the precariat as a group of people that are “socially ill misfits” and exists with a broad range of insecurities and are more likely to experience anxiety, anomie, alienation and

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    With a culture preoccupied by the belief that material gain constitutes fulfillment within life, it is becoming increasingly common to view the act of living as the need to obtain wealth. This inane form of existence is a result of the capitalistic system in which our Western world is governed. An essay that effectively expounds the circumstances leading up to the current economic disparity among the classes is Edward McClelland’s, RIP, The Middle Class: 1946-2013. In the U.S. today, the need for a stable and remunerative job is one of the greatest concerns of an adult.…

    • 1031 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Greg Mantsios’ essay, “Class in America-2012”, Mantsios depicts different aspects of social class. It is fair to say that Mantsios is a believer that the rich exploit the poor, and that the rich get richer, while the poor get poorer. In his essay, there are four myths about class in America, ten realities of class in America, and three different profiles of people’s lives since birth, all of whom have different social class levels. Social class categorizes people into upper-call, middle-class, and lower-class, and in Mantsios’ essay, he highlights how social class causes division in the United States while he favors the idea of the radical redistribution of wealth. While Manstios claims that the rich exploit the poor, he does not emphasize…

    • 280 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Dangerous Consequences of Growing Inequality by Chuck Collins argues that the burgeoning gap between the upper and lower classes has strenuous personal and economic ramifications. He summarizes the pressures facing households and the economic inequalities that undermine the security of families, threaten our democratic institutions and economy, deteriorate our public health as well as breaking down our social cohesion. The ever so important middle class has been vanishing right before our eyes, there is a strain on relationships between ourselves and our neighbors, families and co-workers which prevents our society from uniting and striving for greatness. As a greedy and power hungry society we completely forgot what is most important, our fellow citizens and their well-being. Collins’ essay is an effective argument for social justice because he shows that even though our economy has thrived throughout the decades those profits have not trickled down to the working class…

    • 1125 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Society is divided into three major categories of people; poor, middle class, and wealthy or rich. These categories asses the population of the United States based on their income. Many benefits, such as food or heat assistance, taxes, loans, etc. are based on these categories. These categories also allow for criticism from others around us, whom may or may not be categorized similarly. In the book Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America, the author, Linda Tirado discusses her experiences as a part of the poor America and also her thoughts and opinions on the rich, upper class.…

    • 1108 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    As globalization remains to be a dominant factor in the global economy, labour markets around the world continue to be affected by forces of change. A few months ago, Bill Morneau, the Canadian Finance Minister made a speech stating that short-term work is the new normal for the younger generations and that we ought to get used to this “job-churn” as precarious work is here to stay. Precarious employment has become a widespread term that highlights the job insecurity not only in Canada, but other parts of the world as well. Precarious employment often includes low wages, limited benefits and short term or temporary work. This type of employment is a result of capitalism where employers gained the power and global access to subcontract and…

    • 1740 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Not only are they being restricted in their long-term ambitions, but they are also delusional and sometimes being taxed emotionally and not knowing why. Mantsios’s article presents convincing information as it informs readers of the divide of economic classes in America, and explains that it is an issues that all Americans are affected by. What are there class divides present in America and are they harming citizens? In 2012, the economy in America was on a slow but steady climb, making it possible to for citizens to prosper, however, moreso for the “upper-class” citizens than others.…

    • 1045 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The poor class is under the poverty threshold. These people have enough income to get by but often time struggle. The majority of this specific sector of the population is uneducated and in some cases are homeless. These people are continuously looking for employment and the average life expectancy is lowered drastically due to hunger and disease. People in this class suffer from lack of medical care, adequate housing and food, clothing, safety, and vocational training.…

    • 254 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout U.S history, socio-economic classes have been established to categorize our place in society. The lower, middle, and upper class, make up the socio-economic structure of the American people. The social system groups people according to wealth, income, education, social network and other factors. Many different models have been proposed to characterize people’s social class, though the U.S most commonly uses the simple three class structure. The middle class, the social group between the upper and working classes, including professional workers, small business owners, and low-level managers; is essential to a thriving economy and successful democracy (Social Class, n.d).…

    • 796 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Late Term Abortion Essay

    • 1230 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In today’s society, a rising debatable topic within America is that of the legalism of late-term abortion. Even though deciding to abort a fetus is seen to be the right of the mother under the Roe V. Wade case, choosing to end the life of a fetus when it is viable is murder. The unique genetic code that is given to a fetus is proof that life also begins at conception. The legalization of late-term abortion should be abolished in all fifty states due to evidence that show that it is legally and ethically wrong and also that abortion does not have to be an option. Fetal viability is determined when a fetus is able to live outside the womb.…

    • 1230 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The widening gap between the upper and lower class is daunting. Within the same cities there are people who make millions of dollars, and some that make less than 15,000. The chairman of Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers notes this, "There are a lot of causes of inequality but [the erosion of the minimum wage] is one of the important ones for inequality at the bottom,"(Sahidi). The middle class is virtually gone.…

    • 1545 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “THE PRECARIAT DOES NOT FEEL A PART OF A SOLIDARISTIC COMMUNITY lack of identity: alienation (need to be a part of society in order to understand its norms and values etc. THEY LACK OCCUPATIONAL IDENTITY different pattern of income to all other groups ‘concept of social income’: what they or their families produce, most people in most societies have several sources of income: THE PRECARIAT DO NOT. Critiques: conclusion: how has it helped? theorists such as marx could be seen as outdated: help us understand modern society.…

    • 866 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Class in America - 2012,” by Gregory Mantsios, explores class in the Modern Day United States and its effects on individual accomplishments. Mr. Mantsios believes that the classes of America can be divided into three categories: The ultra wealthy, the working class, and the poor. However, this is simply not the case. On the upper end of the spectrum, there is a capitalist class of people in between the ultra wealthy and the working class. On the lower end of the spectrum, there is a class of people wedged between the ultra poor and the middle class.…

    • 974 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Different social class are serious problems, income, races cultures and gender are all reasons to produce it. “Looking For Work” written by Gary Soto. This is an article that described his child-hood experience. Little boys watching the TV show that opened a new door to a better life. He wants to become a middle-class person.…

    • 1262 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Analysis Of White Trash

    • 1052 Words
    • 5 Pages

    White trash has become a massive history in America dating back from the colonial period in Jamestown to the present day. Isenberg, in her book about the ‘white trash’ and as ‘the face of a white trash’, explains the unpleasant fine points of our national identity, tying to the America’s social hierarchy and how America has never offered an equal opportunity to all white comers. She gives us a very powerful insight about how the imagery of the class system and the consistency of prejudice is evolving over the years. She also traces on the white stereotype from its root of the British belief that the working class was indeed a separate race from the middle and the upper class who were considered as lazy and stupid. The two major points that Isenberg makes a really convincing claim to us an audience is on the very true face of the class system and the ‘White Trash’ which sheds a light on the history of political demography beginning…

    • 1052 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Essay On Cesarean Section

    • 922 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The topic I chose to write about for my process essay is a Cesarean section commonly known as a C-section. Women sometime struggle to have a natural birth. Everyone is not able to carry out a full term pregnancy. The Cesarean section allows for fetal distressed babies or any unborn baby to be safely removed from the womb. This medical process dates back to the first successful recorded C-section in 1500.…

    • 922 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Great Essays