Precarity and class. Parents in precarious employment and daily struggles

Journal title SOCIOLOGIA DEL LAVORO
Author/s Stefano Ba'
Publishing Year 2024 Issue 2024/168
Language Italian Pages 20 P. 184-203 File size 251 KB
DOI 10.3280/SL2024-168009
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This study presents the results of exploratory research on precarity and class. Through key concepts drawn from critical sociology, we try to understand class as class struggle, but not in the political sense of the concept. Here class struggle means the uninterrupted efforts of a whole group of people, within the given circumstances, to create better living conditions. Precarity is part of these circumstances and it is framed within the dynamics of valorisation of labour, which tends to reduce the person to simple labour-power. The participants are parents in pre-carious employment and we want to report and reflect on their efforts to achieve decent living standards. The intent of this study is critical, it does not want to demonstrate whether the “precariat” is a social class or not, but through the narratives of parents in precarious employment about their difficult circumstances, this research wants to explore how daily struggles can be understood as class struggles of people at the margins.

Keywords: Precarity, class, daily struggles, precarious parents, labour-power.

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Stefano Ba', Precarietà e classe. Genitori in occupazioni precarie e ‘lotte quotidiane’ in "SOCIOLOGIA DEL LAVORO " 168/2024, pp 184-203, DOI: 10.3280/SL2024-168009