Prekariat jako wyzwanie dla katolickiej nauki społecznej

Abstract

The precariat is a new social category, which is increasingly present in the postmodern world. Most researchers (sociologists and political scientists) believe that the precariat is social class, formed as a result of the economic crisis in late capitalism. Those who belong to the precariat are people who usually take paid work on the basis of flexible forms of employment, and have no life perspectives. These include: serial interns, temporary workers, young unemployed and those working below their education level. In this text, the main source of knowledge about the precariat is the book: The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class. It was written by Guy Standing ‒ professor at the University of Bath and founder, member and president of the Basic Income Earth Network. Valuable comments from the online text Prekarność, prekaryjność, prekariat krótkie wprowadzenie by Ryszard Szarfenberg, professor at the University of Warsaw, were also used. According to many researchers, the precariat shapes the face of post-modern society to a large extent, especially the labor market and its institutions. This gives rise to the need for deeper ethical reflection, which would be able to identity the opportunities and risks associated with the emergence of this new social category. For obvious reasons, it is a task and a challenge especially important for Catholic social teaching.