precariat

See also: précariat

English

Etymology

Blend of precarious +‎ proletariat, popularized by economist Guy Standing in his book The Precariat (2011).

Pronunciation

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Noun

precariat (countable and uncountable, plural precariats)

1. (sociology, collective) People suffering from precarity, especially as a social class; people living a precarious existence, without security or predictability, especially job security.
   • 2011 June 1, Guy Standing, “Who will be a voice for the emerging precariat?”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     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.

   • [2013 January 28, Colin Moynihan, “In 'Occupy,' Well-Educated Professionals Far Outnumbered Jobless, Study Finds”, in New York Times City Room‎^[2]:

     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.]

   • 2014 February 11, David Brooks, “The American Precariat”, in The New York Times‎^[3], →ISSN:

     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.

   • 2017 December 2, Jessica Bruder, “Living in cars, working for Amazon: meet America's new nomads”, in The Guardian‎^[4]:

     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.

   • 2019 December 13, David Brooks, “The Politics of Exhaustion”, in The New York Times‎^[5], →ISSN:

     Second, there is the precariat. These are the young and educated voters caught in the gig economy, who see no career security ahead.

Related terms

• cognitariat

• and see: precarious

Translations

sociological group

• Catalan: precariat m
• Danish: prekariat n
• Dutch: precariaat (nl) n
• Finnish: prekariaatti (fi)
• French: précariat (fr) m
• German: Prekariat (de) n
• Italian: precariato (it) m
• Polish: prekariat (pl) m
• Russian: прекариа́т (ru) m (prekariát)
• Spanish: precariado (es) m
• Swedish: prekariat (sv) n

Further reading

• precariat on Wikipedia.Wikipedia