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Book Review: Limits: Why Malthus Was Wrong and Why Environmentalists Should Care
Acta Sociologica ( IF 1.3 ) Pub Date : 2020-02-04 , DOI: 10.1177/0001699320902676
Wiebren J. Boonstra 1
Affiliation  

actors, some of the countries have been able to address the consequences of precarious work more successfully than others. The respective countries have expanded social safety nets, managed labour market transitions and implemented social and economic reforms targeted at the needs and wants of increasingly diverse labour forces. Thus, even though all the six countries have liberalised labour markets and restructured social welfare protections to cope with the growth of precarious work, the measures have differed, depending on the countries’ political context. The measures range from the deregulation of markets and implementation of social protection in institutions (the UK and the US) and dualism (Germany, Japan and Spain) to a more collective sharing of risk (Denmark). The generosity of social welfare protections and high levels of active labour market policies are associated with greater subjective well-being in a country. Moreover, cultural variations in social norms and values, such as those underlying gender equality, and the importance placed on general social equality and the desirability of collective as opposed to individual solutions to social and economic problems also help to generate and legitimise a country’ s institutions and practices. Kalleberg outlines the elements of what he sees as a social–political contract that has the potential to address some of the major challenges raised by the current growth of precarious work. “The implementation of such a new social contract – with its expanded and portable safety net, better-managed labour market transitions, and appreciation for the needs of a diverse labour force – ultimately requires, of course, an associated political contract among the state, business, and labour that seeks to balance the needs for flexibility and security” (pp. 196–197). He further points out that securing such a new social– political contract constitutes one of the great challenges of the first part of the twenty-first century. Finally, he presents what he sees as both the dystopian and utopian futures of precarious work but leaves the reader with an open question on future developments. Precariousness and job insecurity are major issues in the modern global labour market. Clearly, Kalleberg does not cover all manifestations of these issues in the book. For instance, he does not mention that employees are increasingly being (illegally) replaced by young volunteers and so-called interns, who do not get any wages. Thus, their recruitment is a breach of labour market regulations. Without doubt, it can look like an attractive opportunity for young unemployed people to move around and work for free, as it can improve their CVs and give them an opportunity to travel. This, however, can also be akin to modern slavery and misuse of the young people’s weak labour market situation. All in all, Precarious Lives: Job Insecurity and Well-Being in Rich Democracies effectively deals with the relevant social issues that sociology needs to address in relation to the upsurge of precarious work. The book is also well-organised and accessible to all those who wish to gain a theoretical and practical understanding of the issue of precarious work and its implications. It is a welcome addition to the sociological literature on work and welfare.

中文翻译:

书评:限制:为什么马尔萨斯是错的以及为什么环保主义者应该关心

行动者,一些国家已经能够比其他国家更成功地解决不稳定工作的后果。各国扩大了社会安全网,管理了劳动力市场转型,并针对日益多样化的劳动力的需求和愿望实施了社会和经济改革。因此,尽管所有六个国家都开放了劳动力市场并重组了社会福利保护以应对不稳定工作的增长,但措施因国家的政治背景而异。这些措施的范围从放松市场管制和在机构中实施社会保护(英国和美国)和二元主义(德国、日本和西班牙)到更集体的风险分担(丹麦)。 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 慷慨的社会福利保护和高水平的积极劳动力市场政策与一个国家更大的主观幸福感有关。此外, 社会规范和价值观的文化差异, 例如性别平等的基础, 以及对普遍社会平等的重视以及集体而非个人解决社会和经济问题的可取性也有助于产生和合法化一个国家机构和做法。卡勒伯格概述了他所认为的社会政治契约的要素,它有可能解决当前不稳定工作增长带来的一些主要挑战。“这种新的社会契约的实施——其扩大和可移动的安全网,管理更好的劳动力市场转型,以及对多样化劳动力需求的理解——当然,最终需要国家、企业和劳工之间的相关政治契约,以平衡灵活性和安全性的需求”(第 196-197 页)。他进一步指出,获得这样一份新的社会政治契约是 21 世纪上半叶的重大挑战之一。最后,他展示了他所认为的不稳定工作的反乌托邦和乌托邦的未来,但给读者留下了一个关于未来发展的悬而未决的问题。不稳定和工作不安全是现代全球劳动力市场的主要问题。显然,卡勒伯格并未在书中涵盖这些问题的所有表现形式。例如,他没有提到员工越来越多地(非法)被年轻的志愿者和所谓的实习生取代,他们没有任何工资。因此,他们的招聘违反了劳动力市场法规。毫无疑问,对于年轻的失业者来说,这看起来是一个很有吸引力的机会,可以四处走动和免费工作,因为它可以改善他们的简历并给他们一个旅行的机会。然而,这也类似于现代奴隶制和对年轻人疲软的劳动力市场状况的滥用。总而言之,《不稳定的生活:富裕民主国家的工作不安全感和幸福感》有效地处理了社会学需要解决的与不稳定工作热潮有关的相关社会问题。这本书组织良好,所有希望对不稳定工作问题及其影响获得理论和实践理解的人都可以阅读。它是关于工作和福利的社会学文献的一个受欢迎的补充。
更新日期:2020-02-04
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