The Precarious Concept of Precarity

Abstract

This paper traces the roots of precarity as a concept emerging from French sociological discourse, then permeating through networks informed by Italian autonomism, before re-emerging in the writings of figures such as Guy Standing and Arne Kalleberg. It is shown that, despite the claims of the literature, precarity in employment is not typical in the United Kingdom. Here, temporary employment remains the exception and employment tenure remains stable. This can best be explained by radical political economy. Capital is not interested simply in engendering precarity; it is also concerned with the retention and reproduction of labor power, leading to contradictory imperatives. The resonance of the narrative of precarity, in spite of this, reflects a long retreat from class within radical theory and the insecurities present in working life.

Arts-Based Research in Precarious Pedagogy-Making Experiences

“…A concept originally from sociological discourse about the uncertainty and insecurity of one's livelihood, precarity has been applied to other fields, and the discourses around the concept have expanded in recent years (Choonara, 2020). We frame our work around this concept, acknowledging the risk of taking it out of the original context.…”

Youth underemployment: A review of research on young people and the problems of less(er) employment in an era of mass education

“…As such, the reader is assumed to have knowledge of underemployment to propel their understanding of the research. This lacuna in conceptual clarity within youth studies and sociology of youth literature is leveraged to engage in broad-ranging youth-centred discussions of 'precarity'-a term that has both conterminous and divergent conceptual issues as those identified in this contribution (Choonara, 2011(Choonara, , 2020Standing, 2011). In so doing, this large portion of the literature draws upon youth underemployment as a discursive device to signify a general or diffusive 'site of struggle' (Venugopal, 2015) or a series of complexly variegated and overwhelmingly negative situations facing young people since the late-twentieth and now into the twenty-first century.…”

Reflections on Embeddedness in an Applied Sociology Project in Ontario

“…Jonna and Foster (2016) argue that some portion of the working class has always had to contend with being disposable. Furthermore, according to Choonora (2020), the increasing focus on precarity not only represents a retreat from class analyses but also positions workers as being incapable of resisting structural changes. Concern with precarious work and the idealization of the SER may indicate that researchers, and thus research organizations, approach working conditions with assumptions which potentially influence how they attempt to understand labor structures.…”