This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. Guy Standing's immensely influential 2011 book introduced the Precariat as an emerging mass class, characterized by inequality and insecurity. Standing outlined the increasingly global nature of the Precariat as a social phenomenon, especially in the light of the social unrest characterized by the Occupy movements. He outlined the political risks they might pose, and at what might be done to diminish inequality and allow such workers to find a more stable labour identity. His concept and his conclusions have been widely taken up by thinkers from Noam Chomsky to Zygmunt Bauman, by political activists and by policy-makers. This new book takes the debate a stage further, looking in more detail at the kind of progressive politics that might form the vision of a Good Society in which such inequality, and the instability it produces, is reduced. A Precariat Charter discusses how rights - political, civil, social and economic - have been denied to the Precariat, and argues for the importance of redefining our social contract around notions of associational freedom, agency and the commons.
This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. Guy Standing's immensely influential 2011 book introduced the Precariat as an emerging mass class, characterized by inequality and insecurity. Standing outlined the increasingly global nature of the Precariat as a social phenomenon, especially in the light of the social unrest characterized by the Occupy movements. He outlined the political risks they might pose, and at what might be done to diminish inequality and allow such workers to find a more stable labour identity. His concept and his conclusions have been widely taken up by thinkers from Noam Chomsky to Zygmunt Bauman, by political activists and by policy-makers. This new book takes the debate a stage further, looking in more detail at the kind of progressive politics that might form the vision of a Good Society in which such inequality, and the instability it produces, is reduced. A Precariat Charter discusses how rights - political, civil, social and economic - have been denied to the Precariat, and argues for the importance of redefining our social contract around notions of associational freedom, agency and the commons.
Introduction 1. The Precariat 2. How Rights are Denied – Political, Civil and Cultural 3. How Rights are Denied – Economic and Social 4. Occupational Insecurity 5. A Charter for Liberty 6. A Charter for Fraternity 7. A Charter for Equality 8. The Ecological Imperative
Building on the success of The Precariat, Guy Standing’s new book A Precariat Charter develops a progressive set of political ideas aimed at reducing the instability and marginalization of the precariat class.
Guy Standing is Professor of Development Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, UK, and co-president of the Basic Income Earth Network. His books include The Precariat (2011) and Work after Globalization (2009).
A Precariat Charter is that rare thing: a text from the left that
does not yearn for a lost past, but energetically embraces the
future. It offers progressive politics a revived purpose: not a
surrender to economic practices as if they were forces of nature,
but the pursuit of a common security that would enhance our
humanity – because, as he puts it, "knowing that your fellow
citizen has the same rights as you do humanises us all".
*The Guardian*
Standing follows his influential analysis of the precariat as the
‘new dangerous class’ with a comprehensive list of demands and
suggestions for how this class can ‘abolish itself’ through a
struggle for rights, eroded by neo-liberal austerity that has
caused widespread existential insecurity. Standing’s insightful and
encouraging book will be welcomed not only by members of the
precariat but equally by non-precarians on the left seeking
inspiration for a new progressive programme.
*Claus Offe, Emeritus Professor of Political Science, Hertie School
of Governance, Berlin, Germany*
In his call for 'social empathy' in politics, Standing offers an
important corrective to decades of neoliberalism, while his demand
for rethinking of the nature of work rightly seeks to undo
centuries of damaging thought on the issue. The Charter offers a
series of positive steps towards reshaping society to provide a
better life for the vulnerable majority in our societies.
*Natalie Bennett, Leader of the Green Party of England and
Wales*
This is an impressive book ... [in which] Standing puts forth some
thought-provoking and compelling ideas ... The proposals are
written in a simple and accessible way, and they make for a
powerful, if sobering read ... With a long history working on and
researching these issues and with much direct experience out ‘in
the field’, there can be few people better qualified to speak to
these important issues [than Standing].
*Sociology*
This is without doubt one of the most important and powerful books
I have read in a long time. Building on his influential thesis
about the precariat Professor Standing provides not only a graphic
account of the increasing insecurity and poverty facing many people
in the contemporary age, but he also points to clear and workable
solutions to many entrenched problems. The book brings into sharp
relief the declining fortunes of the ordinary citizen and the role
of governments in defining ever harsher life and working conditions
for many. Whilst there is much in the book which is depressing this
is ultimately an inspiring work which is full of promise. I have
little doubt that it will become a classic of the future but its
real potential lies in its clear and convincing mandate for
political change. Quite simply, a tour de force.
*Tracy Shildrick, Professor of Sociology and Social Policy,
University of Leeds, UK, and co-author of Poverty and Insecurity:
Life in low-pay, no-pay Britain*
Building on the success of his much-discussed The Precariat, Guy
Standing has now elaborated a brave and imaginative program that
could bring protection to the denizens of the world and save us all
from the destructiveness of neoliberal capitalism. A terrifying
catalogue of destitution and dispossession.
*Michael Burawoy, University of California, Berkeley, USA*
No one interested in the fate of labor in the 21st century can
ignore Guy Standing's The Precariat, which transformed both
scholarly and political debates about the future of work in
capitalist societies. A Precariat Charter is equally indispensable,
not only updating and elaboration the earlier book's theoretical
framework but also offering a detailed political program to attack
the extreme inequalities and insecurities that neoliberal
globalization has unleashed. For Standing, the precariat is not
merely a victim but also a dynamic agent of social change. Building
on the groundwork laid by Occupy Wall Street and similar movements
around the world, this Charter is a gift to all who aspire to forge
a new society in which human work has meaning and workers' rights
are fully respected.
*Ruth Milkman, Professor of Sociology, City University of New York
Graduate Center and the Murphy Labor Institute, USA*
A Precariat Charter’s core purpose is to outline principles that
will help us become an ethically transformed society – through
steps that are broadly encompassing, inspiring and easy to
imagine.
*www.occupy.com*
The charter itself is a positive and hopeful document because it
charts a way forwards. Now all we need to do is to make it
happen.
*Citizen's Income Trust Newsletter*
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