A Precariat Charter: A Progressive Agenda for Today’s Dangerous Class - Guy Standing

The opening keynote at People vs Profiteers: Demanding Justice and Equity, the Parkland Institute's 18th Annual Conference (November 21-23, 2014).
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A Precariat Charter: A Progressive Agenda for today’s Dangerous Class
Inequality is and always has been about class. Globalisation, technological changes and the neo-liberal economic model have combined to generate a new global class structure, in which the largest rapidly growing class is the precariat. Mired in insecurities, this can be defined in terms of distinctive relations of production, distinctive relations of distribution and distinctive relations to the state. It is a class-in-the-making, not yet a class-for-itself, and it is a dangerous class because it is internally divided into three factions and because all three are rejecting the mainstream political establishments.
What is needed is a new progressive agenda that could unite enough of the components of the precariat and offer the hope that the precariat could become strong enough to force the state to abolish the conditions that define its existence. This talk will outline a Precariat Charter, consisting of policies and institutional changes that would strengthen the precariat’s freedom, reduce the chronic insecurity that it faces and redistribute the key assets in order to shape a Good Society for the 21st century. The presentation will draw on a recent book, A Precariat Charter: From Denizens to Citizens.
Guy Standing is Professor of Economics at SOAS, University of London, and was previously Professor of Economic Security at the University of Bath and Professor of Labour Economics at Monash University in Melbourne. Before that, he was Director of the ILO’s Socio-Economic Security Programme (1999-2005) and Director of the ILO’s Labour Market Policies Branch.
An economist, with a Ph.D. from Cambridge University, and a Master’s Degree in industrial relations from the University of Illinois, he is a founder and co-President of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN), an NGO promoting basic income as a right, with members in over 50 countries. He has been adviser and consultant to many international agencies, including the UNDP, UNICEF, World Bank, European Commission and DFID, as well as many governments and trades unions. In 1995-96, he was research director for President Mandela’s Labour Market Policy Commission, when he co-authored, with John Sender and John Weeks, Restructuring the Labour Market - The South African Challenge.
Recent books are The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class (Bloomsbury, 2011), Social Income and Insecurity in Gujarat (Routledge, 2010), and Work after Globalization: Building Occupational Citizenship (Elgar, 2009). The Precariat has been translated into thirteen languages.
Conference Video sponsored by:
Health Sciences Association of Alberta
www.hsaa.ca/
Conference Video produced by:
KTNEXUS
ktnexus.ca/

[@clipsfromfilms]

As always, this Guy deserves a standing ovation (IMHO). He's not a professor for nothing, and he actually took the time to reply to one of my emails. IN my opinion he is a top guy! It is rare for someone of his credentails to give a (bleep) about the prolatariat ordinary small person, but that is exacltly what he is fighting for.

[@MarkoKraguljac]

20:25 Guy Standing

[@mcclendonreport]

I belong to The Precariat Class.

[@BionicFool]

Being a Precariat, its depressing to watch this.

[@M00Nabove]

I think there was some hope for a change towards the end. But it won't come by itself. We will have to do something to bring this change about.

[@questioneverything8876]

Eva Cox in Australia has dedicated her life to creating pathways to a “Truly Civil Society “ 1995 Boyer Lectures.She saw this disgusting dystopian neoliberal society materialise and tried to warn our policy makers and politicians about the dangers therein. Guy Standing provides the light on the hill and how to get to that goal. In order to create a truly civil society eAch one of us should make it our life’s work to spread Guy Standing seeds every where..It has to be your new mission in life

[@patrickmccormack4318]

"Other forms of Precariat trap are this" 54:30 "If you take a job below your qualifications, you end up lowering the probability of getting a job of your qualifications." - Guy Standing Summer 2021, I can attest to that reality. As a matter of fact, on this day and the day before, during bullshit interviews, I recognized THE behavior. No matter the circumstances, passport is the KSA to read, write, and arithmetic. A gift is the willingness for travel, working legs, and a talent for gab. To exercise your being, keep doing. Breath, meditate, read, write, speak, game, and love. 1:15:40 Most infuriating to me are the motives and markets for egalitarian, commoditized education. "I aim to misbehave." - Malcolm Reynolds, captain of Serenity

[@anthonygoodman48]

Fantastic. Of course only in diagnosis his prognosis is ridiculous, of course he would have cheered on the COVID response initially and UBI which created massive reductions in real income etc.

[@darthvader5300]

+Oksendal5 I forgot to mention something. If you live in Southern England then you are safe for the time being during the Cooling Phase Period which will last for 15 to 25 years, then an Ice Age will come but Southern England will remain ice free if the last Ice Age pattern is going to repeat itself again and invest in agriculture for food will be an strategic item during your life time.

[@M00Nabove]

This makes me think of an episode ''Past Tense'' of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.... The similarities are frightening but also give hope for a positive change.

[@UltraAporia]

guy starts around 20:30

[@marcovanheugten1387]

does 'power makes truth'? it doesn't for some, so the story goes. within the group of literate people there are many who are able to choose for themselves, as and so they say, so wouldn't it be fair to suggest the others, the non-voting and neo-liberals on this part, are choosing freely too.. and that that makes it even worse? the probably even sympathetic disinterest of the people in politics can lead to dangerous courses. one of prof. standing's suggestions is to couple basicincome to voting and deliberation days. that's good stuff & the interacting thing about prophethical law like 'the ten', all equal under the no-king, with ones of its names god (inclusivity is a historical and becoming relevant twoo) is that it is always combinable, and worth study of the crazy and fascinating history of the middle east, included covenant economics, jubilee-prophetizing.. naturally, tnx, bye now (hindu-influences are fun too)

[@ricosadao828]

Guaranteed basic income? Don't we have this already in the form of welfare?

[@M00Nabove]

I think the difference is that the 'basic income' is not conditional. The welfare income usually has conditions - for example you will get support when you are unemployed but you have to have worked during previous X years. Depends on country but principle is similar. There is always a condition you must meet in order to get the money from the so called welfare state. Basic income would be provided regardless. No conditions.

[@kasaduhallo]

Welfare is means tested,It´s not easy to get welfare.You need to apply for jobs,go to meetings,maybe job seeking courses,etc.So it´s very ,very different.

[@atomicstyle7344]

No. Not even remotely the same. Look at what welfare is. It’s workfare. You must work.