The Precariat
Jul. 28th, 2022 06:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithI found this interesting and useful word today.
Precariat
In sociology and economics, the precariat (/prɪˈkɛəriət/) is a neologism for a social class formed by people suffering from precarity, which means existing without predictability or security, affecting material or psychological welfare. The term is a portmanteau merging precarious with proletariat.
Unlike the proletariat class of industrial workers in the 20th century who lacked their own means of production and hence sold their labor to live, members of the precariat are only partially involved in labor and must undertake extensive unremunerated activities that are essential if they are to retain access to jobs and to decent earnings. Classic examples of such unpaid activities include continually having to search for work (including preparing for and attending job interviews), as well as being expected to be perpetually responsive to calls for "gig" work (yet without being paid an actual wage for being "on call").
The hallmark of the precariat class is the condition of lack of job security, including intermittent employment or underemployment and the resultant precarious existence. The emergence of this class has been ascribed to the entrenchment of neoliberal capitalism.
That describes a lot of modern Americans, and increasingly, the younger generations who are unable to obtain the kind of security their ancestors enjoyed.
And you can't build a secure nation on an insecure foundation, it's like trying to build a castle on sand. In particular, if your system leaves people scrambling to survive, anyone who offers them a better deal has a very good chance of taking them away from you. So the bigger that group is, the more vulnerable your society becomes.
Precariat
In sociology and economics, the precariat (/prɪˈkɛəriət/) is a neologism for a social class formed by people suffering from precarity, which means existing without predictability or security, affecting material or psychological welfare. The term is a portmanteau merging precarious with proletariat.
Unlike the proletariat class of industrial workers in the 20th century who lacked their own means of production and hence sold their labor to live, members of the precariat are only partially involved in labor and must undertake extensive unremunerated activities that are essential if they are to retain access to jobs and to decent earnings. Classic examples of such unpaid activities include continually having to search for work (including preparing for and attending job interviews), as well as being expected to be perpetually responsive to calls for "gig" work (yet without being paid an actual wage for being "on call").
The hallmark of the precariat class is the condition of lack of job security, including intermittent employment or underemployment and the resultant precarious existence. The emergence of this class has been ascribed to the entrenchment of neoliberal capitalism.
That describes a lot of modern Americans, and increasingly, the younger generations who are unable to obtain the kind of security their ancestors enjoyed.
And you can't build a secure nation on an insecure foundation, it's like trying to build a castle on sand. In particular, if your system leaves people scrambling to survive, anyone who offers them a better deal has a very good chance of taking them away from you. So the bigger that group is, the more vulnerable your society becomes.
(no subject)
Date: 2022-07-28 11:42 pm (UTC)(How many of us reading this - whatever citizenship we hold on this planet - consider ourselves part of this group?)
And who considers their own personal security dependent upon ensuring that the rest of their country is (re)built upon an insecure foundation, whichever country that may be? Seems like a lot of our countries have been targeted for such "restructuring" these past decades. To ensure that there's nowhere to flee to?
(no subject)
Date: 2022-07-29 12:14 am (UTC)Yes ...
Date: 2022-07-29 01:10 am (UTC)One way is to break it down based on feeling secure vs. having practical resources. America is strange because there is a very widespread feeling of insecurity because people see all the gaps in the social safety net, but then they cling very hard to the idea of being middle class.
Another is to look at different resources. Food insecurity is widely known. The housing shortage is also famous. Less widely known, but still widely felt, is how the health industry does a bad job of meeting needs -- especially in that it's a leading cause of bankruptcy even among people with insurance. Then you look at things like relationships, and because the employers demand a mobile workforce, it is harder for people to maintain family ties and friendships that help them weather challenges.
I think that the number of people who are in a precarious position, or feel insecure, is large enough to leave the country vulnerable.
(no subject)
Date: 2022-07-29 03:43 am (UTC)Yes ...
Date: 2022-07-29 04:40 am (UTC)Australia is more precarious regarding climate change, though, and that's an aspect everyone needs to consider looking forward. America has more room to move around, more different ecological zones, even though large parts will become uninhabitable. Low-lying islands are fucked. Already hot and/or dry places are fucked. Conversely, Canada has lots of northerly territory and most of Scandinavia is quite well set.
Re: Yes ...
Date: 2022-07-29 07:13 am (UTC)Re: Yes ...
Date: 2022-07-29 07:45 am (UTC)https://wonderfulengineering.com/world-4-degrees-celsius-warmer/
Re: Yes ...
Date: 2022-07-29 02:05 pm (UTC)