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Product Identifiers

PublisherNew York University Press

ISBN-100814776914

ISBN-139780814776919

eBay Product ID (ePID)92365840

Product Key Features

Number of Pages272 Pages

LanguageEnglish

Publication NameNice Work if You Can Get It : Life and Labor in Precarious Times

Publication Year2010

SubjectGlobalization, Careers / Job Hunting, Labor

TypeTextbook

AuthorAndrew Ross

Subject AreaPolitical Science, Business & Economics

SeriesNyu Series in Social and Cultural Analysis Ser.

FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height0.6 in

Item Weight12.8 Oz

Item Length8.9 in

Item Width6 in

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Intended AudienceScholarly & Professional

Dewey Edition22

Reviews"This excellent and, in places, brilliant book should be read by anyone interested in a timely and astute analysis of the malaise of life and work in neoliberal postmodern society. . . . Highly recommended." - Choice ,, ( &%8220; When Gay People Get Married devotes considerable time to contemplating whether marriage discrimination against same-sex couples can be equitably rectified by alternative forms of family recognition--something that could satisfy or at least appeal to both conservative and radical opponents of marriage." )-( Women's Review of Books ),(), Economic liberalization, [Ross] demonstrates, has opened up a frenetic global traffic in jobs and migrants, uprooting people in a manner both useful and troubling to the managers of capital. In short, more people are available to exploit, but they are also harder to control. . . . A thorough and thoughtful study of global professional insecurity., ( "In addition to providing the most solid empirical case to date on why supporters of the institution of marriage have nothing to fear from expanding it to include same-sex couples, When Gay People Get Married might also serve to remind both marriage advocates and their progressive allies that marriage equality for gays and lesbians is not, in the end, a matter of single-issue politics." )-(Adam Haslett),(author of Union Atlantic and You Are Not a Stranger Here ), Nice Work provides insight into a sea change in labor markets and work lives that has occurred over the past forty years. It is an intelligent work that raises thought-provoking questions about contingent labor., This excellent and, in places, brilliant book should be read by anyone interested in a timely and astute analysis of the malaise of life and work in neoliberal postmodern society. . . . Highly recommended., "Economic liberalization, [Ross] demonstrates, has opened up a frenetic global traffic in jobs and migrants, uprooting people in a manner both useful and troubling to the managers of capital. In short, more people are available to exploit, but they are also harder to control. . . . A thorough and thoughtful study of global professional insecurity."The Times Literary Supplement"With admirable timing, [Ross] examines a global workplace infrastructure that's as shaky as the economy would indicate. . . . Though far from uplifting, this is a bold, pointed look at reality as it is, a far more valuable commodity."Publishers Weekly, Starred Review "According to Ross, job insecurity became commonplace long before the current financial debacle. As economies shifted from industry to information, the benefits and securities of the Keynesian era quietly gave way to a workforce of temps, freelancers, adjuncts, and migrants. Ross finds that city fathers are more interested in Olympic bids and stadium projects than in sustainable employment, while corporations spend more on 'social responsibility' public-relations campaigns than on addressing worker complaints, and activists are too focussed on narrow concerns to find common cause with natural allies."The New Yorker"Illuminating. . . . Who knows what will be on the table when the damage of the global crisis is told? At the very least, one may hope for a return to security, sensible financial regulation, and a renewed interest in economic equity. Other worlds are possible, and with luck thinkers like Ross can point the way to imagining them more fully."BookForum"This excellent and, in places, brilliant book should be read by anyone interested in a timely and astute analysis of the malaise of life and work in neoliberal postmodern society. . . . Highly recommended."Choice, "Though Ross favors ironic twists on cliches like Nice Work If You Can Get It , he might also have titled the book Working Absurd. And though he would probably resist the high handed aspect of the public intellectual, he has fleshed out the precarious and inequitable terms of contemporary labor, meeting people where they are." ", "This excellent and, in places, brilliant book should be read by anyone interested in a timely and astute analysis of the malaise of life and work in neoliberal postmodern society. . . . Highly recommended." - Choice, "According to Ross, job insecurity became commonplace long before the current financial debacle. As economies shifted from industry to information, the benefits and securities of the Keynesian era quietly gave way to a workforce of temps, freelancers, adjuncts, and migrants. Ross finds that city fathers are more interested in Olympic bids and stadium projects than in sustainable employment, while corporations spend more on 'social responsibility' public-relations campaigns than on addressing worker complaints, and activists are too focussed on narrow concerns to find common cause with natural allies." - The New Yorker, "This excellent and, in places, brilliant book should be read by anyone interested in a timely and astute analysis of the malaise of life and work in neoliberal postmodern society. . . . Highly recommended." -Choice, Nice Workprovides insight into a sea change in labor markets and work lives that has occured over the past forty years. It is an intellignet work that raises thought-provoking questions about contingent labor . . ., "With admirable timing, [Ross] examines a global workplace infrastructure that's as shaky as the economy would indicate. . . . Though far from uplifting, this is a bold, pointed look at reality as it is, a far more valuable commodity." -Publishers Weekly, Starred Review, "Economic liberalization, [Ross] demonstrates, has opened up a frenetic global traffic in jobs and migrants, uprooting people in a manner both useful and troubling to the managers of capital. In short, more people are available to exploit, but they are also harder to control. . . . A thorough and thoughtful study of global professional insecurity." - The Times Literary Supplement ,, "With admirable timing, [Ross] examines a global workplace infrastructure that's as shaky as the economy would indicate. . . . Though far from uplifting, this is a bold, pointed look at reality as it is, a far more valuable commodity." - Publishers Weekly , Starred Review ,, ("When Gay People Get Married: What Happens When Societies Legalize Same-Sex Marriage provides a well-grounded contribution to the arguments needed to fight for full rights for LGBT people here in the United States and around the world.")-(International Socialist Review),(), ( "Looking at quantitative and qualitative data, [Badgett] makes an argument friendly to same-sex marriage and marriage more generally, that the institution of marriage is less transformed by including same-sex couples than gay identity is changed by the availability of marriage..." )-( CHOICE ),(), "Economic liberalization, [Ross] demonstrates, has opened up a frenetic global traffic in jobs and migrants, uprooting people in a manner both useful and troubling to the managers of capital. In short, more people are available to exploit, but they are also harder to control. . . . A thorough and thoughtful study of global professional insecurity." The Times Literary Supplement "With admirable timing, [Ross] examines a global workplace infrastructure that's as shaky as the economy would indicate. . . . Though far from uplifting, this is a bold, pointed look at reality as it is, a far more valuable commodity." Publishers Weekly , Starred Review "According to Ross, job insecurity became commonplace long before the current financial debacle. As economies shifted from industry to information, the benefits and securities of the Keynesian era quietly gave way to a workforce of temps, freelancers, adjuncts, and migrants. Ross finds that city fathers are more interested in Olympic bids and stadium projects than in sustainable employment, while corporations spend more on 'social responsibility' public-relations campaigns than on addressing worker complaints, and activists are too focussed on narrow concerns to find common cause with natural allies." The New Yorker "Illuminating. . . . Who knows what will be on the table when the damage of the global crisis is told? At the very least, one may hope for a return to security, sensible financial regulation, and a renewed interest in economic equity. Other worlds are possible, and with luck thinkers like Ross can point the way to imagining them more fully." BookForum "...whereas for Euro-Americans the path is from Keynesian consensus to its unravelling by the savagery of neoliberal capitalism. Ross is one of those keen to point out that now, with historical hindsight, the Keynesian moment where state security (in the form of public pensions, education and so on) offsets the wilder excesses of capital increasingly looks like a historical blip. But he points out that not only did the temporary Fordist truce rely on imperialism, rigid social hierarchies and a reservoir of unpaid domestic labour, but that today is no simple neo-Victorian age: pre- and post-Fordist moments are qualitatively different. For whereas the Great Depression was the result of a collapse of capitalist control, contemporary precarity is the result of capitalist control, as organizations have eagerly embraced the flexploitation of short-term contracts and outsourcing as the new template for work . . . As we are encouraged to be entrepreneurial subjects scrabbling over each other for success in a so-called 'meritocracy'." - Radical Philosophy, November 2010 "This excellent and, in places, brilliant book should be read by anyone interested in a timely and astute analysis of the malaise of life and work in neoliberal postmodern society. . . . Highly recommended." Choice, Illuminating. . . . Who knows what will be on the table when the damage of the global crisis is told? At the very least, one may hope for a return to security, sensible financial regulation, and a renewed interest in economic equity. Other worlds are possible, and with luck thinkers like Ross can point the way to imagining them more fully., ( ". . .An eminently readable volume that drwas on state population data, survesy, and Badget's own interviews." )-( Against The Current ),(), "Economic liberalization, [Ross] demonstrates, has opened up a frenetic global traffic in jobs and migrants, uprooting people in a manner both useful and troubling to the managers of capital. In short, more people are available to exploit, but they are also harder to control. . . . A thorough and thoughtful study of global professional insecurity." -The Times Literary Supplement, "According to Ross, job insecurity became commonplace long before the current financial debacle. As economies shifted from industry to information, the benefits and securities of the Keynesian era quietly gave way to a workforce of temps, freelancers, adjuncts, and migrants. Ross finds that city fathers are more interested in Olympic bids and stadium projects than in sustainable employment, while corporations spend more on 'social responsibility' public-relations campaigns than on addressing worker complaints, and activists are too focussed on narrow concerns to find common cause with natural allies." -The New Yorker, "Illuminating. . . . Who knows what will be on the table when the damage of the global crisis is told? At the very least, one may hope for a return to security, sensible financial regulation, and a renewed interest in economic equity. Other worlds are possible, and with luck thinkers like Ross can point the way to imagining them more fully." - BookForum ,, With admirable timing, [Ross] examines a global workplace infrastructure that's as shaky as the economy would indicate. . . . Though far from uplifting, this is a bold, pointed look at reality as it is, a far more valuable commodity., "What is compelling about Ross's analysis of precarity is recognition that the 'movement' of these part-time workers is loaded with a host of internal contradictions. The concept of precarity has been deployed by academics and organized labor to describe the 'condition of social and economic insecurity associated with post-Fordist employment and neoliberal governance (p. 34). [â€¦] As Ross asks: 'Even if this concept is theoretically plausible, does it make sense to imagine cross-class coalitions of the precarious capable of developing a unity of consciousness and action on an international scale?' (p. 6). Indeed, this remains a pertinent question considering the debates emerging as a result of the international Occupy phenomenon."- Critical Sociology, "Though Ross favors ironic twists on cliches like Nice Work If You Can Get It, he might also have titled the book Working Absurd. And though he would probably resist the high handed aspect of the public intellectual, he has fleshed out the precarious and inequitable terms of contemporary labor, meeting people where they are." - The Chronicle Review, "Illuminating. . . . Who knows what will be on the table when the damage of the global crisis is told? At the very least, one may hope for a return to security, sensible financial regulation, and a renewed interest in economic equity. Other worlds are possible, and with luck thinkers like Ross can point the way to imagining them more fully." -BookForum, Nice Work If You Can Get It, is impressive for its extraordinary range and sweep, and for asking questions about the kinds of transnational and cross-class alliances that might be made, the kinds of solidarities that might be forged, between differently positioned members of the global & precariat: sweatshop labourers, janitors, academics, and creatives. In doing so it offers a passionate, humane critique of contemporary capitalism., According to Ross, job insecurity became commonplace long before the current financial debacle. As economies shifted from industry to information, the benefits and securities of the Keynesian era quietly gave way to a workforce of temps, freelancers, adjuncts, and migrants. Ross finds that city fathers are more interested in Olympic bids and stadium projects than in sustainable employment, while corporations spend more on & social responsibility public-relations campaigns than on addressing worker complaints, and activists are too focussed on narrow concerns to find common cause with natural allies., "Nice Work If You Can Get It, insists that the combination of transnational capitalism and globalization has eliminated stability and security from the lives of working people."- The New Leader, What is compelling about Rosss analysis of precarity is recognition that the & movement of these part-time workers is loaded with a host of internal contradictions. The concept of precarity has been deployed by academics and organized labor to describe the & condition of social and economic insecurity associated with post-Fordist employment and neoliberal governance (p. 34). [] As Ross asks: & Even if this concept is theoretically plausible, does it make sense to imagine cross-class coalitions of the precarious capable of developing a unity of consciousness and action on an international scale? (p. 6). Indeed, this remains a pertinent question considering the debates emerging as a result of the international Occupy phenomenon., "According to Ross, job insecurity became commonplace long before the current financial debacle. As economies shifted from industry to information, the benefits and securities of the Keynesian era quietly gave way to a workforce of temps, freelancers, adjuncts, and migrants. Ross finds that city fathers are more interested in Olympic bids and stadium projects than in sustainable employment, while corporations spend more on 'social responsibility' public-relations campaigns than on addressing worker complaints, and activists are too focussed on narrow concerns to find common cause with natural allies." - The New Yorker ,, "Nice Work provides insight into a sea change in labor markets and work lives that has occurred over the past forty years. It is an intelligent work that raises thought-provoking questions about contingent labor."-Steven T. Sheehan, Enterprise and Society, "Nice Work If You Can Get It, is impressive for its extraordinary range and sweep, and for asking questions about the kinds of transnational and cross-class alliances that might be made, the kinds of solidarities that might be forged, between differently positioned members of the global 'precariat': sweatshop labourers, janitors, academics, and creatives. In doing so it offers a passionate, humane critique of contemporary capitalism." - Times Higher Education Supplement, "Illuminating. . . . Who knows what will be on the table when the damage of the global crisis is told? At the very least, one may hope for a return to security, sensible financial regulation, and a renewed interest in economic equity. Other worlds are possible, and with luck thinkers like Ross can point the way to imagining them more fully." - BookForum, "Economic liberalization, [Ross] demonstrates, has opened up a frenetic global traffic in jobs and migrants, uprooting people in a manner both useful and troubling to the managers of capital. In short, more people are available to exploit, but they are also harder to control. . . . A thorough and thoughtful study of global professional insecurity." - The Times Literary Supplement, "Nice Work provides insight into a sea change in labor markets and work lives that has occured over the past forty years. It is an intellignet work that raises thought-provoking questions about contingent labor . . ." -Steven T. Sheehan,Enterprise & Society, "With admirable timing, [Ross] examines a global workplace infrastructure that's as shaky as the economy would indicate. . . . Though far from uplifting, this is a bold, pointed look at reality as it is, a far more valuable commodity." - Publishers Weekly , Starred Review, With admirable timing, [Ross] examines a global workplace infrastructure thats as shaky as the economy would indicate. . . . Though far from uplifting, this is a bold, pointed look at reality as it is, a far more valuable commodity., Nice Work If You Can Get It, insists that the combination of transnational capitalism and globalization has eliminated stability and security from the lives of working people., ( "Nice Workprovides insight into a sea change in labor markets and work lives that has occured over the past forty years. It is an intellignet work that raises thought-provoking questions about contingent labor . . ." )-(Steven T. Sheehan),(Enterprise & Society)

Series Volume Number8

Dewey Decimal331.6/2

Table Of ContentAcknowledgements Introduction I Creative Workers and Rent-Seeking 1 The Mercurial Career of Creative Industries Policymaking in the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the United States 2 China's Next Cultural Revolution? 3 The Olympic Goose That Lays the Golden Egg II Sustainability and the Ground Staff 4 Teamsters, Turtles, and Tainted Toys 5 Learning from San Ysidro III Instruments of Knowledge Capitalism 6 The Copyfight over Intellectual Property 7 The Rise of the Global University Conclusion: Maps and ChartersNotesReferences Index About the Author

Synopsis2009 Choice Outstanding Academic Title A survey into an emerging pattern of labor instability and uneven global development Is job insecurity the new norm? With fewer and fewer people working in steady, long-term positions for one employer, has the dream of a secure job with full benefits and a decent salary become just that--a dream? In Nice Work If You Can Get It , Andrew Ross surveys the new topography of the global workplace and finds an emerging pattern of labor instability and uneven development on a massive scale. Combining detailed case studies with lucid analysis and graphic prose, he looks at what the new landscape of contingent employment means for workers across national, class, and racial lines--from the emerging "creative class" of high-wage professionals to the multitudes of temporary, migrant, or low-wage workers. Developing the idea of "precarious livelihoods" to describe this new world of work and life, Ross explores what it means in developed nations--comparing the creative industry policies of the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union, as well as developing countries--by examining the quickfire transformation of China's labor market. He also responds to the challenge of sustainability, assessing the promise of "green jobs" through restorative alliances between labor advocates and environmentalists. Ross argues that regardless of one's views on labor rights, globalization, and quality of life, this new precarious and "indefinite life,&" and the pitfalls and opportunities that accompany it is likely here to stay and must be addressed in a systematic way. A more equitable kind of knowledge society emerges in these pages--less skewed toward flexploitation and the speculative beneficiaries of intellectual property, and more in tune with ideals and practices that are fair, just, and renewable., 2009 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Is job insecurity the new norm? With fewer and fewer people working in steady, long-term positions for one employer, has the dream of a secure job with full benefits and a decent salary become just that--a dream? In Nice Work If You Can Get It, Andrew Ross surveys the new topography of the global workplace and finds an emerging pattern of labor instability and uneven development on a massive scale. Combining detailed case studies with lucid analysis and graphic prose, he looks at what the new landscape of contingent employment means for workers across national, class, and racial lines--from the emerging "creative class" of high-wage professionals to the multitudes of temporary, migrant, or low-wage workers. Developing the idea of "precarious livelihoods" to describe this new world of work and life, Ross explores what it means in developed nations--comparing the creative industry policies of the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union, as well as developing countries--by examining the quickfire transformation of China's labor market. He also responds to the challenge of sustainability, assessing the promise of "green jobs" through restorative alliances between labor advocates and environmentalists. Ross argues that regardless of one's views on labor rights, globalization, and quality of life, this new precarious and "indefinite life," and the pitfalls and opportunities that accompany it is likely here to stay and must be addressed in a systematic way. A more equitable kind of knowledge society emerges in these pages--less skewed toward flexploitation and the speculative beneficiaries of intellectual property, and more in tune with ideals and practices that are fair, just, and renewable., Are we all temps now? A penetrating exploration of how making a living has become such a precarious task, 2009 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Is job insecurity the new norm? With fewer and fewer people working in steady, long-term positions for one employer, has the dream of a secure job with full benefits and a decent salary become just that-a dream? In Nice Work If You Can Get It, Andrew Ross surveys the new topography of the global workplace and finds an emerging pattern of labor instability and uneven development on a massive scale. Combining detailed case studies with lucid analysis and graphic prose, he looks at what the new landscape of contingent employment means for workers across national, class, and racial lines-from the emerging "creative class" of high-wage professionals to the multitudes of temporary, migrant, or low-wage workers. Developing the idea of "precarious livelihoods" to describe this new world of work and life, Ross explores what it means in developed nations-comparing the creative industry policies of the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union, as well as developing countries-by examining the quickfire transformation of China's labor market. He also responds to the challenge of sustainability, assessing the promise of "green jobs" through restorative alliances between labor advocates and environmentalists. Ross argues that regardless of one's views on labor rights, globalization, and quality of life, this new precarious and "indefinite life," and the pitfalls and opportunities that accompany it is likely here to stay and must be addressed in a systematic way. A more equitable kind of knowledge society emerges in these pages-less skewed toward flexploitation and the speculative beneficiaries of intellectual property, and more in tune with ideals and practices that are fair, just, and renewable.

LC Classification NumberHF5382.55.R67 2010

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Nyu Series in Social and Cultural Analysis Ser.: Nice Work If You Can Get It : Life and Labor in Precarious Times by Andrew Ross (2010, Trade Paperback)

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