Roundtable
Debating the Precariat
An exchange on the essay The Precariat: Today's Transformative Class?
William I. Robinson
The “precariat,” rather than a new class, is part of the global proletariat, on whose struggle with transnational capital our fate depends.
Nancy Folbre
The focus on “the precariat” is useful but limited: the fight over distribution isn’t just between labor and capital.
Azfar Khan
A universal basic income is key to delivering security and autonomy to people in a precarious world.
Bill Fletcher Jr.
The “precariat,” rather than a new class, is part of the global proletariat, on whose struggle with transnational capital our fate depends.
Alexandra Köves
Beyond policies like a universal basic income, a transition to a equitable and sustainable society requires the redefinition of well-being, needs, and work itself.
George Liodakis
There is no “precariat,” per se—the working class as-a-whole remains the necessary agent for transformation.
Ronaldo Munck
Work in the Global South has always been precarious, but the resurgence of global labor organizing offers a way forward.
Pritam Singh
A basic income alone is not transformative, but a feature of a broader ecosocialist vision of dismantling capitalism.
Eva-Maria Swidler
Workers in the Global North have a lot to learn from the past struggles of workers in the Global South (as well as in their own countries).
Alison Tate Evelyn Astor
Labor unions must continue to play an important role in the fight for economic justice and against precariousness.
Guy Standing
Guy Standing addresses points raised by the contributors to this roundtable.
As an initiative for collectively understanding and shaping the global future, GTI welcomes diverse ideas. Thus, the opinions expressed in our publications do not necessarily reflect the views of GTI or the Tellus Institute.
Core GT Texts
The emergence of an organic planetary civilization has become both possible and necessary. What would it look like? How do we get there?
The classic essay on our planetary moment, global scenarios, and pathways to a just, fulfilling, and sustainable future.
