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From: Great Transition Network <gtnetwork(a)greattransition.org>
Date: Fri, Aug 31, 2018 at 6:27 PM
Subject: The Precariat: Today's Transformative Class? (GTN Discussion)
To: <michelsub2004(a)gmail.com>
>From Paul Raskin <praskin(a)tellus.org>
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Dear GTN,
In 2018, our discussions have been focusing on key oppositional streams for
building a systemic global movement: vivir bien, human rights, feminism,
peace, and much more to come.* Now, the spotlight turns to the working
class, a change agent long central to social and economic justice
struggles. After all, the industrial proletariat, pushed to the wall by the
capitalist system, spawned a mighty movement able to win vital shop-floor
concessions and social welfare protections. However, the very success of
such reforms, along with harsh neoliberal counterblows and massive economic
changes, has muted the militancy and solidarity of the labor movement in
recent decades.
Is it time, then, to bid farewell to the working class as a driver of
transformation? Not so fast, argues Guy Standing in his new GTI essay, “The
Precariat: Today’s Transformative Class?” While rejecting anachronistic
proletarian dreams, Guy examines the shifting class structure of
contemporary global capitalism, and finds new bases for hope. Specifically,
he believes the “precariat”—the growing army of workers leading precarious
lives of insecure jobs and unpredictable futures—could crystallize into a
new mass class for spearheading system change.
True, some segments of the “precariat” (the word is a portmanteau of
“precarious” and “proletariat”) may serve as fodder for reactionary
politics, but others can lead the progressive challenge to the neoliberal
order. Whatever you conclude about Guy’s controversial thesis, his essay is
sure to stimulate thinking and challenge preconceptions. Please read it at
www.greattransition.org/publication/precariat-transformative-class, and let
the discussion begin!
Comments are welcome through Sunday, SEPTEMBER 30.
Over to you,
Paul
GTI Director
* You may recall that this series kicked off at the end of 2017 with my
framing paper, “How Do We Get There? The Problem of Action” (
www.greattransition.org/publication/how-do-we-get-there) The full GTN
discussion of that paper is archived at
www.greattransition.org/forum/gti-discussions/201-how-do-we-get-there-the-p…
.
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