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- Title
The individual in the gig society: is the gig economy exploitative of the informal economy, or a means of empowerment?
- Authors
Fourie, Danelle
- Abstract
This article argues that the gig economy is an exploitative extension of the informal economy. With its decentralised promise of individual entrepreneurship, I will argue that it places undue burdens on the worker as an 'independent contractor' that would otherwise be upheld by the employer. I will do so by applying a Marcusian analysis of the gig economy, highlighting two primary concerns. First, Marcuse's critique of 'industrial rationality' explains how industrial rationality creates the framework for - and justification of - exploitation within the gig economy. Second, as Wendy Brown notes, following Marcuse, the gig economy promotes the neoliberal notion of 'self-care' as a means of absolving corporations from any duty towards their employees. More specifically, 'self-care' within the gig economy forms part of the exploitation of workers within the informal economy which is often viewed as a buffer to absorb the unemployed within a neoliberal society. Building on this critique, I refer to the work of Byung-Chul Han and his concept of 'self-exploitation,' arguing that the gig economy should be considered an extension of an informal economy, in which workers are left in a perpetual state of servitude.
- Subjects
GIG economy; MARCUSE, Herbert, 1898-1979; INFORMAL sector; BYUNG-Chul Han; EXPLOITATION of humans; INDEPENDENT contractors; SLAVERY
- Publication
Acta Academica, 2023, Vol 55, Issue 2, p154
- ISSN
0587-2405
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.38140/aa.v55i2.7725