Guy Standing – författare

'One of the clearest and most important studies to be published on education, worldwide, in many decades' Danny DorlingDoes the education system make better people? Why are so many – teachers and students alike – stressed and dissatisfied? Do we need to revive real education?Ideally, education is about the pursuit of truth, beauty and morality. But in the last few decades, a perilous fixation with human capital – skills, knowledge and aptitudes required for the labour market – has trampled over curricula, schools and universities. Rather than learning how to think critically about the world, from cradle to grave students are trained to be more effective workers, to make more money, and to serve an hegemonic ideology. Teachers and researchers are pressed to serve those goals.In this concluding book in his series on the commons, Guy Standing shows us how education – intrinsically a common public good – has been enclosed, privatised, financialised and corrupted, turned into an instrument of societal control, not human emancipation, weakening democracy, not strengthening it. Human Capital charts how the education industry largely serves commercial interests, not its teachers and students, and considers how to revive its lost values, to save society for the common good.

'Guy Standing's books have, over the years, pieced together a necessary political and intellectual agenda ... His Politics of Time is a splendid and timely addition to this body of important work' Yanis VaroufakisTime has always been political. Throughout history, how we use our time has been defined and controlled by the powerful, and today is no exception. But we can reclaim control, and in this book, the pioneering economist Guy Standing shows us how.The ancient Greeks organised time into five categories: work, labour, recreation, leisure and contemplation. Labour was onerous, whereas leisure was schole, and included participation in public life and lifelong education. Since the industrial revolution, our time has been shaped by capitalism, our jobs are supposed to provide all meaning in life, our time outside labour is considered simply 'time off', and politicians prioritise jobs above all other aspects of a good life.Today, we are experiencing the age of chronic uncertainty. Mental illness is on the rise, some people are experiencing more time freedom while many others are having more and more of their time stolen from them, particularly the vulnerable and those in the precariat.But there is a way forward. We can create a new politics of time, one that liberates us and helps save the planet, through strengthening real leisure and working together through commoning. We can retake control of our time, but we must do it together.

This book presents the new Precariat – the rapidly growing number of people facing lives of insecurity, on zero hours contracts, moving in and out of jobs that give little meaning to their lives. The delivery driver who brings your packages, the uber driver who gets you to work, the security guard at the mall, the carer looking after our elderly...these are The Precariat.Guy Standing investigates this new and growing group, finding a frustrated and angry new underclass who are often ignored by politicians and economists. The rise of zero hours contracts, encouraged by fat cat corporations as risk-free employment, and by silicon valley as a way of outsourcing costs and responsibility, has been exacerbated by the COVID pandemic. At the same time, in its experience of lockdown, the western world is realizing the true value of these nurses, carers and key workers.The answer? The return of income security and meaningful work - the principles 20th century capitalism was built on. By making the fears and desires of the Precariat central to economic thinking, Standing shows how concepts like Basic Income are not just desirable but inevitable, and plots the way to a better future.

I numret introduceras en rad centrala samtida klassteoretiker. Dessutom granskar vi de klassmässiga realiteterna bakom vår tids diskussioner om utanförskap, klassresor, medelklass och prekariat. Innehåll i Fronesis nr 40-41: Magnus Wennerhag: Inledning Mattias Bengtsson, Martin Gustavsson och Magnus Hörnqvist: Att tänka klass på nytt med hjälp av klassiker Rosemary Crompton: Klass och yrkesstruktur Erik Olin Wright: Att förstå klass Beverley Skeggs: Åter till frågan om respektabilitet Loïc J. D. Wacquant: Att göra klass Mikael Börjesson: Sociala klasser på pappret och i verkligheten Pierre Bourdieu: Vad är en social klass? Mattias Bengtsson, Mikael Börjesson, Martin Gustavsson och Magnus Hörnqvist: Klassamhället i den officiella statistiken Ann Ighe: Nya perspektiv på klass Lena Sohl och Irene Molina: Möjligheten som blivit nödvändighet Mattias Bengtsson: Utanförskapet och underklassen Guy Standing: Att definiera prekariatet Lena Martinsson: Globala klasser Per-Anders Svärd: Kast, klass, kamp Erik Bengtsson: Klasskamp uppifrån Étienne Balibar: Om betydelsen och relevansen av »klasskamp« som ett begrepp om det politiska Gáspár Miklós Tamás: Att säga sanningen om klass Redaktörer: Magnus Wennerhag, David Lindberg och Johan Lindgren. Redaktion: Erik Bengtsson, Mattias Bengtsson, Martin Gustavsson, Magnus Hörnqvist, Ann Ighe, Lena Martinsson, Lena Sohl, Per-Anders Svärd och Sofie Tornhill.

'Basic Income is an idea whose time has come, and Guy Standing has pioneered our understanding of it... Standing's analysis is vital' Paul Mason'Guy Standing has been at the forefront of the movement for nearly 4 decades, and in this superb and thorough survey he explains how it works and why it has the potential to revitalise life and democracy in our societies. This is an essential book.' Brian EnoShouldn't everyone receive a stake in society's wealth?Could we create a fairer world by granting a guaranteed income to all?What would this mean for our health, wealth and happiness?Basic Income is a regular cash transfer from the state, received by all individual citizens. It is an acknowledgement that everyone plays a part in generating the wealth currently enjoyed only by a few. Political parties across the world are now adopting it as official policy and the idea generates headlines every day. Guy Standing has been at the forefront of thought about Basic Income for the past thirty years, and in this book he covers in authoritative detail its effects on the economy, poverty, work and labour; dissects and disproves the standard arguments against Basic Income; explains what we can learn from pilots across the world and illustrates exactly why a Basic Income has now become such an urgent necessity.

'One of the most important books I've read in years' Brian EnoWe are losing the commons. Austerity and neoliberal policies have depleted our shared wealth; our national utilities have been sold off to foreign conglomerates, social housing is almost non-existent, our parks are cordoned off for private events and our national art galleries are sponsored by banks and oil companies. This plunder deprives us all of our common rights, recognized as far back as the Magna Carta and the Charter of the Forest of 1217, to share fairly and equitably in our public wealth.Guy Standing leads us through a new appraisal of the commons, stemming from the medieval concept of common land reserved in ancient law from marauding barons, to his modern reappraisal of the resources we all hold in common - a brilliant new synthesis that crystallises quite how much public wealth has been redirected to the 1% in recent decades through the state-approved exploitation of everything from our land to our state housing, health and benefit systems, to our justice system, schools, newspapers and even the air we breathe. Plunder of the Commons proposes a charter for a new form of commoning, of remembering, guarding and sharing that which belongs to us all, to slash inequality and soothe our current political instability.

A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST ECONOMICS BOOK OF 2022 'A landmark book... The Blue Commons is at once a brilliant synthesis, a searing analysis, and an inspiring call to action.' - David Bollier'With remarkable erudition, passion and lyricism, Guy Standing commands the reader to wake up to the threat posed by rentier capitalism's violent policies for extraction, exploitation and depletion of that which is both common to us all, but also vital to our survival: the sea and all within it.' - Ann Pettifor 'Shines a bright light on the economy of the oceans, directing us brilliantly towards where a sustainable future lies.' - Danny Dorling'This is a powerful, visionary book - essential reading for all who yearn for a better world.' - Jason HickelThe sea provides more than half the oxygen we breathe, food for billions of people and livelihoods for hundreds of millions. But giant corporations are plundering the world's oceans, aided by global finance and complicit states, following the neoliberal maxim of Blue Growth. The situation is dire: rampant exploitation and corruption now drive all aspects of the ocean economy, destroying communities, intensifying inequalities, and driving fish populations and other ocean life towards extinction.The Blue Commons is an urgent call for change, from a campaigning economist responsible for some of the most innovative solutions to inequality of recent times. From large nations bullying smaller nations into giving up eco-friendly fishing policies to the profiteering by the Crown Estate in commandeering much of the British seabed, the scale of the global problem is synthesised here for the first time, as well as a toolkit for all of us to rise up and tackle it.The oceans have been left out of calls for a Green New Deal but must be at the centre of the fight against climate change. How do we do it? By building a Blue Commons alternative: a transformative worldview and new set of proposals that prioritise the historic rights of local communities, the wellbeing of all people and, with it, the health of our oceans.

The book is a comprehensive, user-friendly guide to the evolution of labour statistics in transition economies. The reader is initiated into the 'secrets' of data collection procedures prior to glasnost. The book then documents the results achieved so far in meeting demands for consistent, comprehensive and internationally comparable labour market information for twenty-five transition economies and examines the implications for labour market policy and implementation of these issues.

What models of distributive justice can the 21st century promote to challenge the spread of insecurity, inequality and social fragmentation? The 20th century was dominated by competition between two labour models of society state socialism and welfare state capitalism, which promoted forms of labour security. Since the 1970s, globalization and flexible labour markets have increased insecurity and inequalities. After a period dominated by libertarianism, politicians and social thinkers must find ways of promoting distributive justice, based on basic security and new forms of voice representation and regulation. Dismissing the approach of the "new paternalists", this book presents a vision combining security of income and representation without moralistic state control.

Economic liberalisation associated with globalisation is causing a pervasive growth of economic insecurity experienced all over the world. This is placing urgent demands on policymakers to rethink old policies and institutions. This book sets out a new approach to the assessment of income dynamics, based on identifying the diverse components of people’s income and entitlements. It defines ‘social income’ as a broader concept of household income which includes state, community and private benefits. It shows how those components should be measured and provides a composite picture of the structure of incomes and support systems of different societal groups. It recognises how the structure of income, as well as its distribution, has been linked to policy and development dynamics. It starts from a premise that unless the totality of incomes and income support systems is taken into account, academics and policymakers cannot expect to develop appropriate interventions. This perspective is developed though a detailed household survey conducted in rural and urban areas of Gujarat in 2007–2008. This provides an up-to-date picture of how institutions, NGOs and the state system are operating in the context of rapid restructuring of village life in India.

Today in one the richest countries in the world, 60% of households in poverty have people in jobs, inequality is the highest it has been for 100 years, climate change threatens our extinction and automation means millions are forced into a life of precarity. The solution? Basic Income. Here, Guy Standing, the leading expert on the concept, explains how to solve the new eight evils of modern life, and all for almost zero net cost. There is a better future, one that makes certain all citizens can share in the wealth of the modern economy. Far from being a new idea, Standing shows how the roots of basic income go back to the Charter of the Forest, one of two foundational documents of the state – the other, sealed on the same day, being the Magna Carta. All citizens have a right to the wealth created by capitalism, and all – left or right, rich or poor – can benefit from a dynamic and ecologically grounded economy created by the guarantee of subsistence to all.

First published in 1982, State Policies and Migration is a study on migration-related government action. This book consists of analyses of various rural reforms and industrial strategies in eight Latin American and Caribbean countries. The emphasis of the studies has been determined by the particular context of the country or region concerned, but in general the studies fall into three categories. The first four chapters are primarily concerned with land reforms, however partial. The next two chapters focus on general industrialisation strategies, considering their impact on urbanisation and the attempts made to achieve population redistribution within the context of the longstanding process of industrialisation. Finally, the third section consists of two very different cases of attempts to alter population distribution in the context of transforming the socio-economic structure. This book will be of interest to students of economics, agriculture, history, public policy and migration studies.

First published in 1982, State Policies and Migration is a study on migration-related government action. This book consists of analyses of various rural reforms and industrial strategies in eight Latin American and Caribbean countries. The emphasis of the studies has been determined by the particular context of the country or region concerned, but in general the studies fall into three categories. The first four chapters are primarily concerned with land reforms, however partial. The next two chapters focus on general industrialisation strategies, considering their impact on urbanisation and the attempts made to achieve population redistribution within the context of the longstanding process of industrialisation. Finally, the third section consists of two very different cases of attempts to alter population distribution in the context of transforming the socio-economic structure. This book will be of interest to students of economics, agriculture, history, public policy and migration studies.

Migration Surveys in Low Income Countries (1984) is an attempt to encourage the collection of analytically appropriate data that can be used to help in the design of migration-related policies. It looks at the theoretical perspectives that have been used in the study of migration phenomena, and brings out implications for data collections. It discusses issues of primary concern in the design of migration surveys, as well as analytical issues. Social and demographic issues, work activity, income transfers – all are considered in depth.

Economic liberalisation associated with globalisation is causing a pervasive growth of economic insecurity experienced all over the world. This is placing urgent demands on policymakers to rethink old policies and institutions. This book sets out a new approach to the assessment of income dynamics, based on identifying the diverse components of people’s income and entitlements. It defines ‘social income’ as a broader concept of household income which includes state, community and private benefits. It shows how those components should be measured and provides a composite picture of the structure of incomes and support systems of different societal groups. It recognises how the structure of income, as well as its distribution, has been linked to policy and development dynamics. It starts from a premise that unless the totality of incomes and income support systems is taken into account, academics and policymakers cannot expect to develop appropriate interventions. This perspective is developed though a detailed household survey conducted in rural and urban areas of Gujarat in 2007–2008. This provides an up-to-date picture of how institutions, NGOs and the state system are operating in the context of rapid restructuring of village life in India.

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com.Guy Standing's immensely influential 2011 book introduced the Precariat as an emerging mass class, characterized by inequality and insecurity. Standing outlined the increasingly global nature of the Precariat as a social phenomenon, especially in the light of the social unrest characterized by the Occupy movements. He outlined the political risks they might pose, and at what might be done to diminish inequality and allow such workers to find a more stable labour identity. His concept and his conclusions have been widely taken up by thinkers from Noam Chomsky to Zygmunt Bauman, by political activists and by policy-makers. This new book takes the debate a stage further, looking in more detail at the kind of progressive politics that might form the vision of a Good Society in which such inequality, and the instability it produces, is reduced. A Precariat Charter discusses how rights - political, civil, social and economic - have been denied to the Precariat, and argues for the importance of redefining our social contract around notions of associational freedom, agency and the commons.

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com.Guy Standing's immensely influential 2011 book introduced the Precariat as an emerging mass class, characterized by inequality and insecurity. Standing outlined the increasingly global nature of the Precariat as a social phenomenon, especially in the light of the social unrest characterized by the Occupy movements. He outlined the political risks they might pose, and at what might be done to diminish inequality and allow such workers to find a more stable labour identity. His concept and his conclusions have been widely taken up by thinkers from Noam Chomsky to Zygmunt Bauman, by political activists and by policy-makers. This new book takes the debate a stage further, looking in more detail at the kind of progressive politics that might form the vision of a Good Society in which such inequality, and the instability it produces, is reduced. A Precariat Charter discusses how rights - political, civil, social and economic - have been denied to the Precariat, and argues for the importance of redefining our social contract around notions of associational freedom, agency and the commons.

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com.Would it be possible to provide people with a basic income as a right? The idea has a long history. This book draws on two pilot schemes conducted in the Indian State of Madhya Pradesh, in which thousands of men, women and children were provided with an unconditional monthly cash payment. In a context in which the Indian government at national and state levels spends a vast amount on subsidies and selective schemes that are chronically expensive, inefficient, inequitable and subject to extensive corruption, there is scope for switching at least some of the spending to a modest basic income. This book explores what would be likely to happen if this were done.The book draws on a series of evaluation surveys conducted over the course of the eighteen months in which the main pilot was in operation, supplemented with detailed case studies of individuals and families. It looks at the impact on health and nutrition, on schooling, on economic activity, women’s agency and the welfare of those with disabilities.Above all, the book considers whether or not a basic income could be transformative, in not only improving individual and family welfare but in promoting economic growth and development, as well as having an emancipatory effect for people long mired in conditions of poverty and economic insecurity.

Politicians, financiers and bureaucrats claim to believe in free competitive markets, yet they have built the most unfree market system ever created. In this Gilded Age, income is funnelled to the owners of property – financial, physical and intellectual – at the expense of society. Wages stagnate as labour markets are transformed by outsourcing, automation and the on-demand economy, generating more rental income while broadening the precariat.Now fully updated with an introduction examining the systemic issues exposed by Brexit and Covid-19, The Corruption of Capitalism argues that rentier capitalism is fostering revolt and presents a new income distribution system that would achieve the extinction of the rentier while encouraging sustainable growth.

This book is about an idea that has a long and distinguished pedigree, the idea of a right to a basic income. This means having a modest income guaranteed – a right without conditions, just as every citizen should have the right to clean water, fresh air and a good education.

In this ground-breaking book, Guy Standing offers a new perspective on work and citizenship, rejecting the labourist orientation of the 20th century. Karl Polanyi's The Great Transformation marked the rise of industrial citizenship, which hinged on fictitious labour decommodification. Since the 1970s, this has collapsed and a Global Transformation is under way, in which inequalities and insecurities are becoming unsustainable. Guy Standing explains that while a struggle against paternalism is essential, the desirable egalitarian response to the problems caused by globalization is a strategy to build occupational citizenship. This is based on a right to universal economic security and institutions to enable everybody to develop their capabilities and work whilst respecting the ecological imperatives of the 21st century. The book also explores a phasing out of labour law and a re-orientation of collective bargaining towards collaborative bargaining, highlighting the increased importance of the relationship between groups of workers and citizens as well as between workers and capital.Work after Globalization offers a new perspective on work, rejecting the labourist orientation of the 20th century. Social scientists interested in globalization and labour market issues will warmly welcome this book. It will also strongly appeal to students, researchers, policy-makers, social activists and those connected with the international regulation of occupations.

In this ground-breaking book, Guy Standing offers a new perspective on work and citizenship, rejecting the labourist orientation of the 20th century. Karl Polanyi's The Great Transformation marked the rise of industrial citizenship, which hinged on fictitious labour decommodification. Since the 1970s, this has collapsed and a Global Transformation is under way, in which inequalities and insecurities are becoming unsustainable. Guy Standing explains that while a struggle against paternalism is essential, the desirable egalitarian response to the problems caused by globalization is a strategy to build occupational citizenship. This is based on a right to universal economic security and institutions to enable everybody to develop their capabilities and work whilst respecting the ecological imperatives of the 21st century. The book also explores a phasing out of labour law and a re-orientation of collective bargaining towards collaborative bargaining, highlighting the increased importance of the relationship between groups of workers and citizens as well as between workers and capital.Work after Globalization offers a new perspective on work, rejecting the labourist orientation of the 20th century. Social scientists interested in globalization and labour market issues will warmly welcome this book. It will also strongly appeal to students, researchers, policy-makers, social activists and those connected with the international regulation of occupations.

Since the late 1980s, incomes have fallen sharply in most countries of Central and Eastern Europe, while unemployment and poverty rates have risen dramatically. In most countries during that period, the statutory minimum wage has been supposed to be an anchor of the social protection system and the wage structure, protecting the low-paid and those dependent on state benefits. Unfortunately for those affected, the level of the minimum wage has been allowed to drop to well below the poverty level and has ceased to protect anyone. This book considers the evidence and the implications of this development, and recommends a series of reforms.

The century of labouring man has come to an end, and yet governments continue to link social entitlements to the performance of labour. This book argues that the era of market regulation has ended in an era of fiscal regulation: new social and economic insecurities have spread around the world, boosted by globalisation and flexible labour markets, and compounded by privatisation and increased selectivity of social policy. This global insecurity has spawned growing and underestimated inequalities, while governments are making social policy more paternalistic and directive, using the language of duty and responsibility.This context requires new systems of regulation, social protection and redistribution. Guy Standing argues for a complex egalitarianism, in which basic income security is a right for all, workers' representation is strengthened in new ways, and economic democracy is promoted. Work (including community and care work), not labour, must be the basis of the "good society", so policies should be judged by their capacity to promote occupational security-good opportunity for all to pursue their own sense of occupation.

Under en föreläsning i Malmö 2014 ställde ekonomen Guy Standing en enkel fråga till publiken: Hur många här förväntar sig att få fast arbete i framtiden? Ett tiotal personer ? av en publik på fyrahundra ? räckte upp handen. Det var, får man säga, ett talande svar och en bekräftelse på Standings tes om människors förändrade arbetsvillkor och reducerade förväntningar. Och svaret kunde sannolikt ha blivit detsamma med en annan publik, på en annan ort, i ett annat land: prekariatet, den allt större grupp som lever i ständig ekonomisk osäkerhet under korttidsanställningarnas låga himmel, finns överallt. Prekariatet är ett globalt fenomen. I "En färdplan för prekariatet" lägger Standing ? med det klassiska engelska maktdelningsdokumentet "Magna Carta" från 1215 som en sorts fri förebild ? fram 29 politiska förslag som skulle förbättra prekariatets situation globalt och lokalt. Somliga av förslagen har en övergripande ? och systemkritisk ? karaktär, som det om att inrätta en universell basinkomst (medborgarlön), medan andra är mer vardagspragmatiska. Standing diskuterar förslagen utförligt ? deras förutsättningar, konsekvenser, komplikationer ? och kastar därigenom ett välbehövligt och uppfordrande ljus över de konkreta politiska möjligheter som prekariatet till buds. Boken, påpekar Standing i sitt förord, är skriven i vrede ?över de centrala beslutsfattarnas och mainstreammedias brist på empati för prekariatet?.