Recently I finished reading one of the best books that I have read in the last few years.The precariat the new dangerous class written by Guy Standing.The book is only 183 pages but it is well worth reading.
The main thesis of the book is that many people are living a precarious existence due to globalisation and neo liberalism. Hence the term the precariat.
The precariat is an international phenomenon that exists in most countries of the world both developed and third world countries.The precariat are people who are often quite well educated often even with university degrees in casual insecure work.They also often live in insecure accommodation.The people who are the precariat are obviously angry in their insecure existence with their economic future uncertain.
I will look at the precariat from the viewpoint of Britain. I know a few people who are in their fourties who have lived in bedsits all their adult life living in insecure private rented accommodation where there is no long term security of tenure. These people have university degrees who just move from one casual job to another.
The globalised neo liberal economy cannot guarantee secure permanent or well paid employment nowadays.
The book has many interesting statistics For instance 50% of Americans know somebody who has been sacked from their job for internet misuse.The precariat live in an employment situation where monitoring of their work time is quite severe.
The author Guy Standing puts forward some useful to fight the neo liberal ideas that have dominated the world economy since the 1970,s. For instance more government intevention in the economy, independent workers associations,workers cooperatives and higher taxes for the rich.
While the ideas put forward by Guy Standing are very good. However as I have said in my previous blogs I feel that a whole new human paradigm shift is needed to defeat the neo -liberal consensus. I feel that with the global economic crisis that is unfolding at the present time this radical shift in economic policies could take place in the next few years and so reverse the policies of neo liberal agenda and end the power of corporate rule.
kevinclarion 