The Brave New World of Work

In this important book, Ulrich Beck - one of the leading socialthinkers in Europe today - examines how work has become unstable inthe modern world and presents a new vision for the future. Beckbegins by describing how the traditional work society, with itslife-long job paths, is giving way to a much less stable world inwhich skills can be suddenly devalued, jobs obliterated, welfarecover reduced or eliminated. The West would appear to be headingtowards a social structure of ambiguity and multiple activity thathas hitherto been more characteristic of the developing world. Butwhat appears to be the end of traditional working practices canalso be seen as an opportunity to develop new ideas and models forwork in the twenty-first century. Beck's alternative vision is centred on the concept of activecitizens democratically organized in local, and increasingly alsoregional or transnational, networks. Against the threat of socialexclusion, everyone can and must have a right to be included in anew definition and distribution of work. This will involve constantmovement between formal employment (with a major reduction inworking hours) and forms of self-organized artistic, cultural andpolitical 'civil labour', providing equal access to comprehensivesocial protection. The aim must be to turn insecurity around, sothat it becomes a positive and enriching discontinuity of life. Drawing on his earlier work on risk and reflexive modernization, The Brave New World of Work is also closely linked to hisstudies on globalization and individualization. These processes arepart of the same challenge upon which a politics of modernity mustnow base itself. Not only the future of work, but also the verysurvival of democracy and the welfare state will depend on thedevelopment of a newly committed and 'multi-active' transnationalcitizenship. This book will be of great interest to second- and third-yearstudents in sociology, politics, geography and the social sciencesgenerally. It will also appeal to a broader audience interested inthe issues and debates surrounding the changing nature of work.