This book explores two themes in connection with contemporary capitalism: infrastructures capitalism as the most advanced phase of a modernity, of which the ‘workman’ or homo faber is the embodiment, who exists within an infrastructure whose logic of connectivity is aimed at value extraction; and a landscape of ruins – in the form of symbolic misery, the Anthropocene and a process of refeudalisation – that the homo faber has been piling up around himself as a result. In response to this dynamic, the author elaborates a social, cultural and political project – a ‘design hope’ of both material and immaterial dimensions – that adopts the perspective of possibilism: an outlook that eschews ever greater social and environmental costs in the name of future ‘development’, but seeks a logic of reproduction based on a real politics of care in the form of generalised social action. Possibilism and the Ruins of Capitalism will therefore appeal to scholars of social and political theory with interests in critiques of capitalism and alternative futures.

This book explores two themes in connection with contemporary capitalism: infrastructures capitalism as the most advanced phase of a modernity, of which the ‘workman’ or homo faber is the embodiment, who exists within an infrastructure whose logic of connectivity is aimed at value extraction; and a landscape of ruins – in the form of symbolic misery, the Anthropocene and a process of refeudalisation – that the homo faber has been piling up around himself as a result. In response to this dynamic, the author elaborates a social, cultural and political project – a ‘design hope’ of both material and immaterial dimensions – that adopts the perspective of possibilism: an outlook that eschews ever greater social and environmental costs in the name of future ‘development’, but seeks a logic of reproduction based on a real politics of care in the form of generalised social action. Possibilism and the Ruins of Capitalism will therefore appeal to scholars of social and political theory with interests in critiques of capitalism and alternative futures.

The global financial crisis and subsequent increase in social inequality has led in many cases to a redrawing of the boundaries between formal and informal work. This interdisciplinary volume explores the role of informal work in today’s global economy, presenting economic, legal, sociological, historical, anthropological, political and cultural perspectives on the topic.

Workers and the Global Informal Economy explores varying definitions of informality in the backdrop of neo-liberal market logic, exploring how it manifests itself in different regions around the world, and its relationship with formal work. This volume demonstrates how neo-liberalism has been instrumental in accelerating informality and has resulted in the increasingly precarious position of the informal worker. Using different methodological approaches and regional focuses, this book considers key questions such as whether workers exercise choice over their work; how constrained such choices are; how social norms shape such choices; how work affects their well-being and agency; and what role culture plays in the determination of informality.

This interdisciplinary collection will be of interest to policy-makers and researchers engaging with informality from different disciplinary and regional perspectives.

The global financial crisis and subsequent increase in social inequality has led in many cases to a redrawing of the boundaries between formal and informal work. This interdisciplinary volume explores the role of informal work in today’s global economy, presenting economic, legal, sociological, historical, anthropological, political and cultural perspectives on the topic.

Workers and the Global Informal Economy explores varying definitions of informality in the backdrop of neo-liberal market logic, exploring how it manifests itself in different regions around the world, and its relationship with formal work. This volume demonstrates how neo-liberalism has been instrumental in accelerating informality and has resulted in the increasingly precarious position of the informal worker. Using different methodological approaches and regional focuses, this book considers key questions such as whether workers exercise choice over their work; how constrained such choices are; how social norms shape such choices; how work affects their well-being and agency; and what role culture plays in the determination of informality.

This interdisciplinary collection will be of interest to policy-makers and researchers engaging with informality from different disciplinary and regional perspectives.

This book explores two themes in connection with contemporary capitalism: infrastructures capitalism as the most advanced phase of a modernity, of which the ‘workman’ or homo faber is the embodiment, who exists within an infrastructure whose logic of connectivity is aimed at value extraction; and a landscape of ruins – in the form of symbolic misery, the Anthropocene and a process of refeudalisation – that the homo faber has been piling up around himself as a result. In response to this dynamic, the author elaborates a social, cultural and political project – a ‘design hope’ of both material and immaterial dimensions – that adopts the perspective of possibilism: an outlook that eschews ever greater social and environmental costs in the name of future ‘development’, but seeks a logic of reproduction based on a real politics of care in the form of generalised social action. Possibilism and the Ruins of Capitalism will therefore appeal to scholars of social and political theory with interests in critiques of capitalism and alternative futures.

This book explores two themes in connection with contemporary capitalism: infrastructures capitalism as the most advanced phase of a modernity, of which the ‘workman’ or homo faber is the embodiment, who exists within an infrastructure whose logic of connectivity is aimed at value extraction; and a landscape of ruins – in the form of symbolic misery, the Anthropocene and a process of refeudalisation – that the homo faber has been piling up around himself as a result. In response to this dynamic, the author elaborates a social, cultural and political project – a ‘design hope’ of both material and immaterial dimensions – that adopts the perspective of possibilism: an outlook that eschews ever greater social and environmental costs in the name of future ‘development’, but seeks a logic of reproduction based on a real politics of care in the form of generalised social action. Possibilism and the Ruins of Capitalism will therefore appeal to scholars of social and political theory with interests in critiques of capitalism and alternative futures.

The global financial crisis and subsequent increase in social inequality has led in many cases to a redrawing of the boundaries between formal and informal work. This interdisciplinary volume explores the role of informal work in today’s global economy, presenting economic, legal, sociological, historical, anthropological, political and cultural perspectives on the topic.

Workers and the Global Informal Economy explores varying definitions of informality in the backdrop of neo-liberal market logic, exploring how it manifests itself in different regions around the world, and its relationship with formal work. This volume demonstrates how neo-liberalism has been instrumental in accelerating informality and has resulted in the increasingly precarious position of the informal worker. Using different methodological approaches and regional focuses, this book considers key questions such as whether workers exercise choice over their work; how constrained such choices are; how social norms shape such choices; how work affects their well-being and agency; and what role culture plays in the determination of informality.

This interdisciplinary collection will be of interest to policy-makers and researchers engaging with informality from different disciplinary and regional perspectives.

The global financial crisis and subsequent increase in social inequality has led in many cases to a redrawing of the boundaries between formal and informal work. This interdisciplinary volume explores the role of informal work in today’s global economy, presenting economic, legal, sociological, historical, anthropological, political and cultural perspectives on the topic.

Workers and the Global Informal Economy explores varying definitions of informality in the backdrop of neo-liberal market logic, exploring how it manifests itself in different regions around the world, and its relationship with formal work. This volume demonstrates how neo-liberalism has been instrumental in accelerating informality and has resulted in the increasingly precarious position of the informal worker. Using different methodological approaches and regional focuses, this book considers key questions such as whether workers exercise choice over their work; how constrained such choices are; how social norms shape such choices; how work affects their well-being and agency; and what role culture plays in the determination of informality.

This interdisciplinary collection will be of interest to policy-makers and researchers engaging with informality from different disciplinary and regional perspectives.