Now we know differently. Those who made themselves the leaders of the proletariat became worse oppressors than all who had gone before. But at least we can say that people have questioned every system of government that comes along and found it wanting. Human kind is restless in its search for a better way. But are we finding it?
A present day economist, Guy Standing, has come up with a new analysis of our situation and where we are going. He says that 40% of the UK population belong to a class he calls the precariat. These are people whose jobs are insecure, who have limited access to secure housing and for whom rearing children is a constant struggle. Modern society in developed countries keeps people on edge all the time; they are worried, stressed and prone to breakdowns in their relationships and in their personal health.
I know a man in the UK in his forties with three young children; he is highly qualified in his field (information technology) but he holds a job for three years and then is made redundant. It seems they milk him of everything he can offer and then they dump him. Standing and others are analysing this new phenomenon and concluding that big business and governments, to say nothing of banks, are colluding in a process which is creating this new class: the precariat.
The rage we see in the streets of Athens, London and the far right of American politics all seem to support this analysis. People are frustrated by their governments constant failure to provide for their basic needs: secure work, access to affordable housing and an environment where their children can grow up without anxiety.
Meanwhile in Zimbabwe most people have long since moved from being the honoured members of the proletariat and are now firmly not 40% but 90% – in the ranks of the precariat. Years ago, despite the oppressive racial system, there seem to have been far less people living precariously. Now, not a day goes by without evidence of the destitution to which so many are reduced.
Post published in: Opinions