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E-book
Author Hardy, Jane, author

Title Nothing to lose but our chains : work and resistance in twenty-first-century Britain / Jane Hardy
Published London : Pluto Press, 2021
©2021

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Description 1 online resource (xii, 248 pages) : illustrations
Contents 1. Changing terrains of work and struggle -- 2. Neoliberal Britain -- 3. Narratives and numbers of British capitalism -- 4. New icons of work? The 'gig' economy and precarious labour -- 5. Explosive struggles and bitter defeats -- 6. Opening the 'black box' of trade unions -- 7. Striking women : still hidden from history -- 8. Migrant workers : here to stay, here to fight -- 9. Taking the bosses to the cleaners -- 10. Working and organising in new 'satanic mills' -- 11. Education workers on the front line -- 12. New kids on the block -- 13. Capitalism's gravediggers
Summary "Capitalism is a dynamic system, continually adapting itself to exploit workers in new ways. In Britain today, the gig economy is its newest form, expressed through precarious contracts and the supposed atomisation of workers. In this book, Jane Hardy argues that despite capitalism's best efforts to stop us, we can always find ways to fight it. Through a range of case studies, from cleaners to university lecturers, Hardy looks at how workers are challenging employers' assaults in the neoliberal workplace, comparing these new actions to a long history of British working class struggle. She explores the historic role of migrants in the British workforce, from the Windrush generation to more recent arrivals from the European Union, as well as placing womens' collective action centre stage. Analysing the rise of robotics and artificial intelligence, she refutes claims that we are entering a post-capitalist society. Nothing to Lose but our Chains is an optimistic exploration into the power of the working class, showing that no matter what tools capitalism uses, it can always be resisted."-- Provided by publisher
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Jane Hardy was Professor of Political Economy at the University of Hertfordshire. She is now an independent writer and researcher. Hardy has published widely on the restructuring of the Polish economy, including her book Poland's New Capitalism (Pluto, 2009). She is a member of the Editorial Board of International Socialism
Print version record
Subject Working class -- Great Britain -- History -- 21st century
Labor -- Great Britain -- History -- 21st century
Capitalism -- Great Britain
Industrial relations -- Great Britain -- History -- 21st century
Capitalism
Industrial relations
Labor
Working class
Great Britain
Genre/Form History
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9781786808103
1786808102
9781786808110
1786808110
9781786808127
1786808129