The precariat: From denizens to citizens?

G. Standing

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

126 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

Liberalized markets promoted by the Washington Consensus under globalization have resulted in a global class structure in which new groups have emerged, including a precariat consisting of millions of people subject to flexible, insecure labor relations. The precariat is a class-in-the-making, in that the global market system wants most workers to be flexible and insecure, even if it is not yet a class-for-itself, having a clear vision of what type of society it wishes to see emerge. It is not an underclass. This article traces the factors explaining its growth and considers which demographic groups have the highest probability of being in it. The essay then considers two possible political scenarios-a politics of inferno, if current negative trends are allowed to continue, and a politics of paradise, a set of policies that would be essential to arrest those negative trends.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)588-608
Number of pages21
JournalPolity
Volume44
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2012

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