Information AboutPrecarity |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT PRECARITY | |
| anti-globalization | |
| employment | |
| labor | |
| industrial workers of the world | |
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The term 'precarity' emerged in France in the year 2000 as ''précarité'' (of the same family as the English word "precarious") to refer to the linking of a condition of work to a social condition, for the protest rallies that were officially titled the 'Marches Against Unemployment, Job Insecurity, and Social Exclusion' . At that time and subsequently, debates have been held around the themes of inclusion / refusal of work / Social Europe / migration / and the equation of different kinds of work within discussions on precarity. According to some perspectives, precarity is a condition of Late-capitalism , as nations shift from Manufactory to Service and Information based Economies . For others, precarity has been a feature of most forms of work in Capitalism for most of the world's population. It is only by comparison with the exceptional period of Fordism and the Welfare State , and from the perspective of particular kinds of (paid) work in some countries, that precarity appears to be a new phenomenon. Precarity.org : "The opposite of precarity, as it is presented to us, is regular wages and stable housing. But this supposed 'opposite' to precarity is often just another version of it. The privileges of enjoying this material security is at the cost of everything else - your time, life, energy, integrity, creativity and autonomy." According to another perspective, "The idea of transversal social unity in shared precariousness is closely linked to the insight that 'all life is work', in the sense that value is transformed from labour into capital right across the social field, not just in jobs. But 'all life is work' doesn't mean all work is the same. Far more value can be squeezed out of some kinds of labour than from others: hence the war on 'economic inactivity' waged by governments and employers, a desperate mobilisation to get as many people working (in the traditional sense) as many hours as possible. Pious identification between violently stratified social subjects does nothing whatsoever to undermine this war effort." [http://www.metamute.com/look/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=1&NrIssue=29&NrSection=10&NrArticle=1471 Mute - Precarious edition] More recently, discussions have focussed on the project of a 'Social Europe' and migration, prompting a closer examination of strategies and concepts in the lead-up to EuroMayday 2005 and the April 2nd Mobilisation for Freedom of Movement . A slow and loose research project called 'Precari-Punx' is hosted by 'How We Live' based in the 56a Infoshop Social Centre in London, UK. (See http://www.56a.org.uk/precari.html) SEE ALSO
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