2015

Jakonen, Mikko

Despite the rapid spread of precarity, temporary unemployment, and the phenomenon of ‘working poor’ all over Europe, the social and political institutions in European welfare states have not really recognized the precarious figure, who lives and works in atypical times and gains atypical incomes. The traditional welfare state system is built for people with steady jobs, not for those who experience uncertainty of work, income, and welfare on a daily basis. The same goes for political parties: the precarious figure and the new kind of worker subjectivity do not easily fit the confines of traditional leftist representative politics and trade unions centred around the Fordist, industrial mode of production. For some right-wing political parties, especially for those with strong market-liberal and neoliberal tendencies, a precarious workforce is instead a welcome phenomenon, since it provides a flexible labour force and accelerates the rupture in the traditional trade unions. However, even in these parties, the precarious figure is not seen as a positive political subject, but instead as a necessary outcome of the restructuring and polarization of the labour markets.