Alfonso Llanes, studied at Florida International University
Evaluation of Trobe University graduate studies has to be subjective as it would be for any other institution of higher learning. Therefore, the question must be interpreted as being loaded.
A Recent term making the sociological rounds the world over is the term “precariat” which describes the world phenomenon of discontent, despair and search for meaning. In America, Trump tapped into this disruption of the social fabric either accidentally or by feeling the same frustration himself; although, at a different level of the social pyramid but with the same fear and anxiety of going bankrupt and finding meaning to his existence for being a rich playboy getting old and frail. Precariat is the new portmanteau coined by sociologist merging precarious with proletariat.
In past-contemporary English dictionary, a portmanteau was a suitcase that opened into two equal sections. The etymology of the word is the French porte-manteau, from porter, "to carry", and manteau, "cloak."
Guy Standing is the author of “The Precariat - The New Dangerous Class” and is Professor of Economic Security, University of Bath, England. In his book he proposes a basic income as a solution for addressing the problem of “robotization” of the economy. Other solutions have been proposed to include taxation of robots to pay for people’s retraining and sustenance.
According to Standing, “forty years ago, it was widely predicted that by now everybody would be working for income for about 20 hours a week, living in security and in professional positions of some kind. Instead, we have experienced the growth of a new and dangerously angry class, the precariat.”
Millions of people across the world, in the developed and underdeveloped world, are living and working in economic and social distress, many in casual or short-term, low-paid jobs, with insecurity they worry about. Incomes now, fluctuate unpredictably with no benefits that most people used to take for granted. No paid vacations, sick leave, or subsidized training. In addition, no worthwhile pension to look for at old age, and no assurance that losing a job will be protected by a social safety-net of state benefits or other assistance.
The precariat is a world phenomenon enraging those who feel entitle over others which are awakening the dark forces of nationalism, racism and many other isms of the past. It is not just a matter of economic insecurity but also dignity in occupational identity. People today, do not feel they are becoming somebody, or doing the types of work they would like or what they had been led to expect when they pursued all those years of schooling. They feel cheated by somebody who is now replacing them when in reality is a simple process of economics and sociology which helps define the precariat as a feeling of doing a lot of work that is not compensated.
Labor and economic statistics do not reveal the realities of the precariat as these methods of measuring economic activity were designed for another age which presently conceals the underlying issues that are not treated as having economic value.
Standing states that the precariat consists of three main groups – “those falling out of working-class jobs and communities, those who accept insecurity because they have never had any better, and those who are educated and are experiencing status frustration. The first group tends to want the past back, without any prospect of all those stable jobs returning; the second group, made up mainly of migrants, the disabled, minorities and so on, tends to drift into the margins of society; the third group is what exploded into the streets and squares of great cities last year, in the Occupy movement, in Euro-May-Day parades across Europe, in the indignados in Madrid, in Athens and in the Middle East”.
Politicians must wake up to the realities of the precariat! First, because we are all at risk! Second, anybody in the precariat is vulnerable to recurrent poverty, leading to a loss of capacity to sustain a life of dignity, falling into debt, in and out of hollow jobs!
Third, the precariat face risks everywhere they turn. The biggest source of anxiety is uncertainty. Economists tell us that you cannot insure against uncertainty, because one cannot work out the probability of an adverse event. When someone’s fate is determined by ecological shocks or by decisions taken on the far side of the world, getting hurt or not becomes a matter of luck but the fear spreads nevertheless. Anxiety and fear for not being competitive in a changing world and being inadequate to change fast enough with the trend.
Standing believes that the precariat also suffer from what sociologists call anomie, a feeling of despair and wanting to escape from the insecurities and meaninglessness. All this comes together in what psychologists call an attention deficit syndrome where we could lose the ability to concentrate.
Then there is the sense of alienation as precariat tends to feel they are not doing what they would like to do, or what they are capable of doing, while having to do a lot of what they do not want to do. Moreover, and dangerously alienating the social order that feeds into a lack of empathy with others.
Standing follows that “the precariat sees winners on screens, billboards and newspapers, celebrities and absurdly affluent rogues striding the globe with their millions and billions. Meanwhile, they are stressed, and become intolerant towards others - strangers - unless they have the education to see the futility and inappropriateness of that reaction”.
Finally, according to Standing this is what is feeding a growing protest movement around the world. Last year and this year were a harbinger of more days of rage during elections. Going forward we will see the precariat taking shape as a political force, demanding political parties and governments respond to the insecurities and to their aspirations for a better working identity, through having greater control of their time and more access to the wealth that currently goes to a tiny minority which is a burning issue for Senator Sanders in America. This anger will surely translate into a progressive or a fascist agenda for a better or worse society and we’ll watch it grow in front of us.
No comments:
Post a Comment