308.2
Global Financial Class and Precarious Work Societies

Tuesday, July 15, 2014: 5:45 PM
Room: 423
Oral Presentation
Norbert EBERT , Sociology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
Global Financial Class and Precarious Work Societies

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the formation of a global financial class is paralleled by the development of a global precarious work society.  Taking global developments into account, the paper will trace differentiating and integrating aspects of global work relationships.  While the formation of a global financial class could be described as a new integrating and collectivising element in the global economy, I argue that it comes with a shadow side.  This shadow side I describe as a global precarious work society.  Wherever we can observe the development of a global financial class, the development of a precarious layer of work relationships is not far behind.  The paper will map out which industries, which population groups or economies play which role in the development of a global precarious work society.  The formation of a global financial class and the development of a global precarious work society ultimately cannot be separated and need to be looked at as social consequences of financialisation as a differentiating and integrating process.