The precariat is a modern term conceptualized by economist Guy Standing in 2011, when the global economic crisis had consolidated and worsened in the so-called First World or developed economies such as Spain, France or even Germany, the economic engine of Europe.
In some way, the precariat emerges as a new emerging class, a new mass phenomenon that requires, according to experts, urgent attention to be able to resolve potential crises for the following decades. It is no longer just a matter of the economic needs of individual people, but the complexity will come from not being able to guarantee minimum social well-being
Textually, the precariat is a hybrid between the concepts of precariousness and the proletariat given that it is a middle or lower class working class, whose economic aspirations are matched by its success in finding work, and lives in the instability that the labor market currently generates.
Precarious for the following reasons: this new class faces unprecedented job insecurity to a volatility in the labor market and to a lack of definition and classification of a specific identity as a working class.
Causes that have given rise to the phenomenon
Some expert economists and political analysts such as the aforementioned Guy Standing, father of the definition, the renowned doctor in economics Santiago Niño Becerra or professor José María Gay de Liébana among others, point directly to the capitalist system in general, and to the Globalization system in particular
In a certain sense, the precariat is even below the poor who work long hours and the relationship between labor force and salary remuneration is imbalanced, since in some cases they do not earn what is stipulated by law, as occurs in the case of interns or those workers who need to moonlight and who even in that case cannot reach a minimum to pay for their living.
World Globalization has caused this new social class to spread throughout the globe, due to its asymmetric economic policies, its extremely painful working conditions in some cases and its policy of free movement of people ; Migrations are another mechanism for perpetuating the precariat.
The 3 types of the precariat
Within this worrying phenomenon, there are different types of classification according to the nature of the precariat They are the following.
1. Young immigrants
This group responds to that generation of young people who have had to emigrate from their countries of origin due to lack of social guarantees such as public health, education and, of course, lack of job offers. The problem is that the destination country has the same complexity.
2. Young people with university degrees
In this case the situation is even more serious. Here, the most prepared generations in history have education and knowledge that exceed or surpass the needs of the labor market. That is, they become so excellent in their abilities that are excluded from the professional offer In this context, your reaction to the work situation can be one of great frustration or, at the other extreme, a feeling of resignation that Bertrand Regader defined as ‘satisfied slave syndrome’.
It is probably the most urgent case to attend to. Seniors are those elderly individuals, between 40 and 55 years old, who have remained out of the labor market by not meeting the requirements demanded by the economy modern (technologies, travel).
What do these groups have in common?
As we have already pointed out previously, the precariat is a socio-economic group that is characterized by distinctive features: labor instability (they cannot have permanent contracts), remuneration for their work lacks social guarantees (they are paid below the legal in most cases) and are also deprived of some civil privileges such as paid vacations or leave days that the rest of society does enjoy.
Unlike the typical working class of the era of the industrial revolution, the precariat has even less security of finding work, and the areas in which they can work are so unstable that in a matter of a few years their skills may be insufficient for the job they have been occupying.
Universal income as a possible and only solution
In different meetings of economic circles, world development forums and other socio-political events, all national governments admit that they do not know how to face the next challenge of the 21st century. The world population is increasing, human power is becoming expendable and resources are scarce
And it is at this point where politicians encounter an often insurmountable wall when it comes to addressing the problem, and that is to convince financial and business entities of the need to make a model change in production systems.
Globalization responds to capitalism, which at the same time is nourished by a neoliberal ideology that encourages fierce competitiveness at the national level, both in the strictly professional and personal spheres. This results in decreased wages greater durability in the working day and a constant transformation of the labor market, which implies constant updating (and which is not always possible) on the part of the worker.
In this sense, Standing, the author of the book The precariat, a new social classvisualizes a violent and dark future for this phenomenon, appealing to a single solution: universal basic income as a new fundamental right that can guarantee a minimum monetary income for those individuals who identify themselves within this socio-economic group.
