Manifest 2024 of The Precariat: The Angry “Last” Child of Capitalism

Everything related to sustainability is also linked to the future. So with sustainability practices, we expect to balance the environment in the future and protect the future of each individual by ensuring justice and equality of opportunity, by taking care of the environment and resources, and also by efficient production-consumption policies from today. When we start thinking about the future, we feel both hope and anxiety, which unfortunately often overwhelms the sense of responsibility. For this reason, sustainability is an utopia that we hear a lot, but is slowly rising because of being a set of practices that cannot be fully understood, cannot be spread to the general. Even if understood, sustainability is stuck in the self-centered structures of people, institutions, organizastions and societies.

Sorry about saying this, but sustainability is mostly used a tool of marketing for "greenwashing". However, no society, no government, no business and no individual can avoid this concept and the responsibilities it brings. Otherwise no one will not be able to flee away or have enough time to escape from its consequences…

The sustainability consciousness is especially heightened by a young and angry socio-economic class - the Precariat- whose presence has been felt more and more after 2000. Yes, they are angry but here is the main issue is “Why are they angry?” and “Are they really dangerous as said?”. Sure but, “According to whom and for what they are dangerous?”

The Birth Moment of the Precariat by Neoliberal Capitalism

After 1980s, by the strengthening of free markets, the increase in technologies, the spread of automation in production, the formation of flexibility in production-work-wages and the weakening of the state and unions by becoming unable to produce policies regarding labor markets, workers who constituted the majority of the society and had nothing to sell other than their labor, have been remained under a great pressure and insecure.? The effect of this precarity, uncertainty, lack of expectation and more generally this "futurelessness" have been increasing day by day.

Precariat is used to express a community that is precarious and has no future. The concept was first introduced by the British economist Guy Standing. Capitalism has enlargen its belly with the inequality of opportunity, income distribution imbalance and lack of social justice by a handful of people who direct the market, labor unions and all policies of governments and working conditions according to their own interests till today. Due to the rights that are not defended by the inadequate unions; capitalism has given birth to its last and most angry child along with its great pains, the Precariat.

The concept of the precariat is all about sustainability, so about the future. The individuals who make up the precariat class are in an existential struggle with great anxiety. Their only hope is to continue their existence in this precarious environment, their only expectation is to save the present. Unfortunately, old capitalism still employs but mostly chews this politically weak and de-unionized proletariat with its mouthwatering.

Moreover, this only handful of teeth collectively try to marginalize people, classify them, weaken them by dividing them, and intimidate them by impoverishing them by influencing government narratives and the media as usual. But the Precariat is different. The precariat is more qualified, more educated, and has a great ANGER and DISGUST at all of this. This well-equipped anger encompasses every segment of society, from engineers to paper collectors. There is no longer a profession, an origin, a time, nor a place for precarity. Precarity and futurelessness are now in everywhere...

Is the Precariat Really Dangerous?

You can divide people easily. You can divide people by using races, religions, gender, sexual orientation, income level, education, region, culture, ideologies, political orientation, location, position... You can divide, separate, keep apart people by any difference at any point. You can even alienate, marginalize, exclude, oppress and even target them. You disgustingly can use their differences as a swear word. But... But there are two sensitive points that easily bring people together, one of which is "hunger". Regardless of all their differences, people can live even with two neurons in their brain, but they cannot live without two bites of food in their stomach. Another sensitive point is "freedom". Every population, every living being, every person experiences vital anxiety in an environment where they are under pressure.

In short, the uncertainty and anxiety about the continuity of life, so the future is the highest concern that is above all ideologies and all orientations. This fear is the last point, it also represents the most primitive part of the brain where the most basic hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline are secreted at incredible levels. Noradrenaline no longer whispers to the brain to fight or flee, it screams.

From this, point out the differences, try to intimidate or threaten them as much as you want, you cannot break up such a collective force. The precariat; a highly educated community that is being tested with life, has no assurance about an uncertain future, and cannot freely sustain itself and its loved ones, can no longer be intimidated or stopped in any way. And instinctively they know the most important rule of a rebellion "Disturb the head directly".

More clearly, when the noise in the stomach and brain of the people is louder than the voice of the monarch, that reign can end with a single spark. And by surrendering to this stress and anger, the precariat can easily take action. After all, sustainability -a good life and good governance- is the right of the whole and every individual. And the "educated" and "equipped" precariat is more conscious of all their rights.

For this reason, a definition such as 'dangerous' is also used for the precariat, which is correct, but of course, this danger; according to whom, according to what...

Contrary to the self-strengthening perspective of all other classes, the precariat aims to destroy "itself" with a complete fair "revolution" !!!

Precariat is a transformative class that can form the basis of a brand-new political movement, independent of all political orientations and patterns, and includes everyone. As a result, we have been watching the social movements of this class increasingly since 2000, and we will continue to see more of them.

In other words, because of psychological consequences of the pandemic isolation, social consequences of the wealth gap between generations, economic consequences of the inflation, scarcity and also migrations, but much of these, because of the effects of climate change and global warming on mammal aggression; public movements will increase rapidly all over the world, especially after 2023... Until the Precariat destroys itself...

The 2024 Manifest of the Precariat

The Earth is a fluid and permeable water sphere... We are human beings trying to live in this water sphere... No one has the chance to say that an ugliness and pollution falling at any point of such a fluid and permeable structure will not touch or infect me! Millions of people have been displaced in the past year due to the climate crisis and wars. They have affected their destinations economically and demographically, and unfortunately some of them have caused social trauma in a reciprocal way.

Did they have any other choice? Like waiting and fighting with what they had, or going against the authority, or trying to produce despite the pressure of authority or the pressure of climate and water... And on the other hand, what was the fear? How dominant is the fear of a war, fighting, starving, losing freedom, dying or defying authority in the brain of a living being? What was the conscientious and foolish balance of putting yourself forward with your most humane side, especially for a society that is not kind to you and incapable of serving ethics and the whole?

For a long time, we have been shaken as the whole Earth! This beautiful water sphere has been so polluted. That's why we got sick not only physiologically but also psychologically and sociologically. The balance of the ecology, that was pushed to its limits by an insatiable state of mind, has been disturbed. We have allowed unhealthy minds to develop unhealthy economic policies that feed capitalism and a handful of families while encouraging overconsumption. The concept of freedom has been reduced to the concept of being able to consume. In the end, the economy consumed society. The future has been debited from today, resulting in an intergenerational wealth gap. Generations are angry at each other. Especially the younger generation: Debited and angry.

Until now, capital has filled its belly with society and has not chosen a collar color or age limit for its food chain. The most common example of this, capital has always determined the politicians elected by a society. The people thought they were electing, but in fact this was capital's bargain and campaign. He had to market his own man to you for the continuity of his earnings. For this reason, politics has always been something purchased as a result of bargaining with capital, rather than the representation of public. It is such a campaign that capital forces were able to take over the media (mostly purchase) and turn it into a tool for political propaganda. Thus, capital is a power that determines the fate of the next generations and has swallowed the future generations without hesitation.

Whereas the younger generations should have been represented by the young, not by the olders who are selected by capital. As older politicians produce policies for the elderly, almost each young person is in a position to finance the retirement of an elderly person. We are in an era where children are exploited. Not only by capital, but also by their own wealthy parents.

Instead of seeing and sharing the beauty of our innate differences, some of which we cannot change, they have chosen to marginalize and belittle. Worse still, they have given themselves the right to what those who are not like them deserve. Politicians who saw this disease as an opportunity earned their living and their seats by separating differences and scaring societies from those who were different. With the power of capital, these politicians grew their profits by consuming societies and making societies consume each other.

Clearly, this economic rent-chain between capital and politicians lies in the background of all our collective traumas, the deep corruption in the concept of justice, the wealth gap between generations and also social decay...

There is only one thing that needs to be done for this fluid and permeable water sphere:

The concept of sustainability should not be allowed to be used as a greenwashing tool by countries, institutions, political structures and companies. More ecological, sociological and economic sustainable policies should be developed and exported to other societies as open innovations.

This should not be developed by making those societies indebted or making them fight against each other, like the imperial powers, but through cooperation in a way that they can be self-sufficient and secure their future. The overpowering of a person, a community, a generation, a society means that we all roll off this table altogether. And only a highly sensitive and responsible society can hold the legs of this table, not the kings.

Therefore, it is necessary to create a new society that will not hesitate to demand a more sustainable life for everyone. It is necessary to bring together all populations that will raise their voices not only for themselves but also for other people, other societies.

Just as injustice, cruelty and inequality are universal, "humanity" is also international... If a distinction still needs to be made in societies, it should be between good people and selfish people who think they are good but are only good for themselves. In the face of collective evil, it is necessary to bring out a collective goodness that can be as daring as they are.

The world is waking up to an era of cooperation and solidarity. There is no more resources, patience and time for hostility and wars. The world and the ecology have no such time… We have the right to demand more, not from the Earth, but from the politician bosses in order to live “humanely”. We are not the only ones who think like this, feel like this, live like this... There are many of us, we are too crowded, we armed with high education and we are here... We are here with our hope, which is the only thing we have left against to this collective evil.

And our expectation and demand for 2024 is to develop real sustainable policies that consider ecological, social and economic justice without leaving any individual behind, any living being behind by overthrowing this “political capitalism” and expand the geography of these policies for the peace of Earth.

Just stay with us in awareness, good human actions and cooperation...

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Fulya Senbagci Ozer

NeuroSustainability and Social Perception Speacialist

https://linktr.ee/Neurosustainability