Abstract
The term “precarity” pays attention to the various ways in which policies and processes that promote economic growth can also, at the same time, induce a state of precarity or precarious living. In this introductory article, we interrogate one of the paradoxes of Asian development: greater precarity set against the backdrop of an economic “miracle.” The focus is on how policies and processes that are part of neo-liberal orthodoxy create new forms of marginalisation or precarity and new classes of the marginalised or the precariat. These include: transnational migrants without basic protection; factory workers employed on casual contracts; elderly with no old age state support; minorities dispossessed by land grabbing or resettled to make way for mega-projects; and farmers facing declining terms of trade, shrinking landholdings, and growing debts as they invest in new farm technologies. These disparate experiences provide a telling antidote to the growth-at-all-costs philosophy that favours economic expansion over matters of distribution, material prosperity over human flourishing, and corporate profitability over workers’ basic incomes.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 517-527 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Journal of Contemporary Asia |
Volume | 49 |
Issue number | 4 |
Early online date | 5 Mar 2019 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 8 Aug 2019 |
Bibliographical note
The acceptance date for this record is provisional and based upon the month of publication for the article.Keywords
- Asian miracle
- marginalisation
- neo-liberal orthodoxy
- Precarity
- vulnerability