Skip to main content

Catalyzing worker co-ops & the solidarity economy

Event: A Precariat Charter: From Denizens to Citizens

Date: Tuesday 11 November 2014
Time: 12.30-14.00
Location: D-19, Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
Speaker: Guy Standing, Professor of Development at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London and former Director of the Socio-Economic Security Programme of the International Labour Organization


2015 is the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta: The first attempt to limit the powers of the King of England by law and protect the rights of his subjects, in a document imposed on him by those very subjects.

It is time, according to Guy Standing, for a Precariat Charter.

In his 2011 book, Guy Standing introduced us to the precariat: An increasingly global social phenomenon, an emerging mass class characterized by insecurities and lack of occupational identity, doing labour beneath its educational level and experiencing a systematic erosion of rights. The precariat rejects old mainstream political agendas: part of it is attracted by populists playing on people’s fears; part is searching for a new progressive politics.

In his presentation, he discusses how rights—political, civil, social, cultural and economic—have been denied to the precariat, and explains how it is moving from “dangerous class” to “class-for-itself”. He then goes on to consider the kind of progressive politics that might form the vision of a Good Society in which inequality, and the instability it produces, is reduced. The Precariat Charter that he proposes is a programme to revive the Great Trinity of freedom, equality and fraternity, and advance emancipatory income redistribution.

Accessing this Event

This event is public and free of charge. However, registration is required for non-UN badge holders to access the UN buildings (note there can be long queues at security). Click here to register.

The final access to this event is subject to the capacity of the room. We advise arriving early to ensure a seat.

For more information on this event and registration, click here.

Remote access

We will be tweeting key messages live from the seminar and welcome your comments and questions, which, time permitting, we may be able to put directly to the speaker. Follow us on Twitter (@UNRISD) and #UNRISDseminar.

This event will be video and audio recorded. If you would like to be notified when the video and the podcast are online, please send an email with “Audio/video notification” in the subject line to comms@unrisd.org

 

Go to the GEO front page

Add new comment

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.
CAPTCHA This question is to verify that you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam.

What does the G in GEO stand for?