The Harms of Work: An Ultra-Realist Account of the Service Economy by Anthony Lloyd

Author:Anthony Lloyd [Lloyd, Anthony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Labor & Industrial Relations, Political Science, Criminology
ISBN: 9781529204032
Google: oWSzDwAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 44319343
Publisher: Policy Press
Published: 2019-10-01T09:49:24+00:00

Transitions

The harms associated with inherent instability extend to successful passage through life-course gateways. Many contacts were aged between 18 and 30. Debate continues around definitions and boundaries between life stages; the traditional trajectory of childhood into adolescence and youth onto adulthood (see Furlong and Cartmel, 2007; Coté, 2014) may be interrupted by the psychologically distinct phase of ‘emerging adulthood’ (Arnett, 2000), while the complete ‘life-stage dissolution’ of late modern consumer capitalism (Hayward, 2013) is exemplified by the bi-directional processes of ‘infantilisation’ (Barber, 2007) and ‘adultification’ (Hayward, 2013). Meanwhile, the linear progression to adulthood has long been contested as structural conditions of education and employment ‘fragment’ or fracture transitional paths (Johnston et al, 2000; MacDonald and Marsh, 2005; Tomaszewski and Cebulla, 2014). As noted elsewhere (Brannen and Nilsen, 2002; Lloyd, 2012), some literature suggests that transitions are subjectively ignored in favour of an ‘extended present’. Finally, Silva (2014) opines that transitions to adulthood are acknowledged subjectively rather than objectively; the personal victories over subjective obstacles such as parental breakup, criminal behaviour in adolescence, drug addiction, homelessness and other biographical factors, rather than an objective measure of success such as a steady job, marriage, family, or a home of one’s own.

In the context of an ultra-realist harm perspective, the transition to adulthood is one measured by the causative absence of stability and the subjective solicitation of the external Symbolic Order of competitive individualism and consumer capitalism. Psychologically distinct phases of the life course (Arnett, 2000) are less important than a psycho-social attachment to, and solicitation of, a set of values and principles, which guide one’s subjective actions as the individual seeks to maximise Weberian ‘market shares’ through negotiation of structural barriers and an individualistic ‘winner-take-all’ culture (Cook and Frank, 2010). The ideology of social mobility and meritocracy reflects in the narrative of ‘progress’ and ‘progression’ noted earlier; there is always a next step to contemplate, the acquisition of qualifications, the next rung on the career ladder, the next job opportunity, the next milestone to achieve (McGowan, 2016). The depth structures and systemic violence of neoliberal capitalism place impediments and barriers in the way of a significant proportion of the population. If meritocracy and social mobility are real, if hard work and endeavour can ultimately result in progression up the slippery slopes of social hierarchy, it is inevitably exclusive; within a capitalist society, there are always ‘winners’ and ‘losers’. The transition to adulthood comes against a backdrop of competition for precious resources and the individualistic journey which embodies neoliberal capitalism.

Within this setting, the neoliberal subject actively solicits the Symbolic Order of neoliberal capitalism (Hall and Winlow, 2015). The dichotomy between structural reality and ideological rhetoric is faced subjectively; negotiated by each individual within his or her own agentic context. There is no recourse to class or community, to politics or protest, in order to redress any imbalance between individual aspiration and material consequences of the depth structures of ideology and political economy. Interviewees either reflect a firm commitment to social mobility and the

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