Abstract

BORSOI, Izabel Cristina F.. Living to work: from degraded to precarized work. Convergencia [online]. 2011, vol.18, n.55, pp.113-133. ISSN 2448-5799.

The pauperization of work, in its current standards, has had a strong impact on workers' lives and health. The problem is that, usually, this phenomenon has been approached without taking into account that precarious work and its consequences are essential part of the history of capitalism, and not just characteristics of its present moment. This article aims at pointing out some elements for the debate on the manner of expression of precarious work and its implications for the workers' lives. It analyzes these aspects since the beginning of the 19th century emphasizing, however, the period characterized by the production restructuration, which started in the 1970s. The discussion presented herein is based on the premise that, in contemporary times, we have been dealing with a new way of performing and expressing exploited and precarious work. Therefore, we have also been dealing with new ways of suffering the consequences of this precariousness. Thus, this pauperization would be a refinement of manners of exploitation that characterize the whole history of capitalism.

Keywords : precarious work; flexibilization; pauperization; life conditions; health.

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