Dictionary

precariat en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio

Etymology

Blend of precarious + proletariat, emerging from the socio-economic theories of French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu and popularized by economist Guy Standing in his book The Precariat (2011).

Meanings

1. (collective, countable, uncountable) People suffering from precarity, especially as a social class; people living a precarious existence, without security or predictability, especially job security.
   • The global precariat is not yet a class in the Marxian sense, being internally divided and only united in fears and insecurities. But it is a class in the making, approaching a consciousness of common vulnerability. 2011 June 1, Guy Standing, “Who will be a voice for the emerging precariat?”, in The Guardian:
   • The American Precariat seems more hunkered down, insecure, risk averse, relying on friends and family but without faith in American possibilities. This fatalism is historically uncharacteristic of America. 2014 February 11, David Brooks, “The American Precariat”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
   • My first encounter with one group of the new nomads came in 2013, at the Desert Rose RV park in Fernley, Nevada. It was populated by members of the “precariat”: temporary laborers doing short-term jobs in exchange for low wages. 2017 December 2, Jessica Bruder, “Living in cars, working for Amazon: meet America's new nomads”, in The Guardian:
   • Second, there is the precariat. These are the young and educated voters caught in the gig economy, who see no career security ahead. 2019 December 13, David Brooks, “The Politics of Exhaustion”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
   • Professor [Stephanie] Luce characterized the protesters who had problems finding full-time work as part of an emerging demographic that some commentators call the “precariat” — educated people forced into unsteady or insecure jobs because little else is available. 2013 January 28, Colin Moynihan, “In 'Occupy,' Well-Educated Professionals Far Outnumbered Jobless, Study Finds”, in New York Times City Room:

Forms

Relateds

cognitariat · precarious (and see)

Translations (11)

ru прекариа́т (sociological group) · fr précariat (sociological group) · ca precariat (sociological group) · da prekariat (sociological group) · pl prekariat (sociological group) · it precariato (sociological group) · sv prekariat (sociological group) · fi prekariaatti (sociological group) · es precariado (sociological group) · de Prekariat (sociological group) · nl precariaat (sociological group)

wikipedia: Pierre Bourdieu · wikipedia: Guy Standing (economist)