Informalizing the Economy: The Return of the Social Question at a Global Level
type="main"> The classical conceptualization of the working class, of workers’ collective action and, especially, of trade unionism, was implicitly or explicitly based on the Standard Employment Relationship that, for a few decades, has been dominant in North America, Europe, Japan and...
Main Authors: | , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | unknown |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/dech.12115 |
id |
ftrepec:oai:RePEc:bla:devchg:v:45:y:2014:i:5:p:920-940 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftrepec:oai:RePEc:bla:devchg:v:45:y:2014:i:5:p:920-940 2024-04-14T08:15:58+00:00 Informalizing the Economy: The Return of the Social Question at a Global Level Amrita Chhachhi Jan Breman Marcel Linden http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/dech.12115 unknown http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/dech.12115 article ftrepec 2024-03-19T10:37:37Z type="main"> The classical conceptualization of the working class, of workers’ collective action and, especially, of trade unionism, was implicitly or explicitly based on the Standard Employment Relationship that, for a few decades, has been dominant in North America, Europe, Japan and Australasia. The ‘classical’ model of collective bargaining, which has shaped the world's traditional labour movements, was based on this conceptualization. However, it is now increasingly undermined by the rapid spread of ‘informal’ or ‘precarious’ labour in the global North. It is our contention that the ‘classical’ view of the working class and workers’ collective action is fundamentally biased and takes as a norm or standard what was in fact an historical exception. The real norm or standard in global capitalism is insecurity, informality or precariousness, and the Standard Employment Relationship is an historical phenomenon which had a deep impact in a limited part of the world for a relatively short period of time. If, as we argue, the ‘Rest’ is not now becoming like the ‘West’, but the other way round, then the ‘traditional’ forms of collective action that have developed in the North Atlantic region during the last two centuries are gradually losing much of their impact. New forms of collective action are emerging, though these are often still at an embryonic stage. It is, therefore, high time to rethink the concept of the working class and the ways in which it can further its interests. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) |
op_collection_id |
ftrepec |
language |
unknown |
description |
type="main"> The classical conceptualization of the working class, of workers’ collective action and, especially, of trade unionism, was implicitly or explicitly based on the Standard Employment Relationship that, for a few decades, has been dominant in North America, Europe, Japan and Australasia. The ‘classical’ model of collective bargaining, which has shaped the world's traditional labour movements, was based on this conceptualization. However, it is now increasingly undermined by the rapid spread of ‘informal’ or ‘precarious’ labour in the global North. It is our contention that the ‘classical’ view of the working class and workers’ collective action is fundamentally biased and takes as a norm or standard what was in fact an historical exception. The real norm or standard in global capitalism is insecurity, informality or precariousness, and the Standard Employment Relationship is an historical phenomenon which had a deep impact in a limited part of the world for a relatively short period of time. If, as we argue, the ‘Rest’ is not now becoming like the ‘West’, but the other way round, then the ‘traditional’ forms of collective action that have developed in the North Atlantic region during the last two centuries are gradually losing much of their impact. New forms of collective action are emerging, though these are often still at an embryonic stage. It is, therefore, high time to rethink the concept of the working class and the ways in which it can further its interests. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Amrita Chhachhi Jan Breman Marcel Linden |
spellingShingle |
Amrita Chhachhi Jan Breman Marcel Linden Informalizing the Economy: The Return of the Social Question at a Global Level |
author_facet |
Amrita Chhachhi Jan Breman Marcel Linden |
author_sort |
Amrita Chhachhi |
title |
Informalizing the Economy: The Return of the Social Question at a Global Level |
title_short |
Informalizing the Economy: The Return of the Social Question at a Global Level |
title_full |
Informalizing the Economy: The Return of the Social Question at a Global Level |
title_fullStr |
Informalizing the Economy: The Return of the Social Question at a Global Level |
title_full_unstemmed |
Informalizing the Economy: The Return of the Social Question at a Global Level |
title_sort |
informalizing the economy: the return of the social question at a global level |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/dech.12115 |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/dech.12115 |
_version_ |
1796314472874246144 |