Guy Standing, economist and author, looks at the current economic system and its impact on labour and society as a whole. Standing is a campaigning economist responsible for some of the most innovative solutions to inequality of recent times and he calls on us to wake up to the threat posed by capitalism's violent policies for extraction, exploitation and depletion of that which is both common to us all, but also vital to our survival. Austerity and neoliberal policies have depleted our shared commons - this plunder depriving us all of our centuries-old common rights to share fairly and equitably in our public wealth. Standing also looks at the increasingly global phenomenon of the Precariat and the rise of political extremism - and offers solutions, including the potential of a Universal Basic Income system as a tool for tackling inequality, climate change, and authoritarian populism. 

Guy Standing is a Professorial Research Associate and former Professor of Development Studies at SOAS University of London. His latest book is “The Blue Commons” in which he focuses on the economy of the sea and how it can provide solutions to economic inequality. He is also the author of "The Precariat” - the hugely influential first account of an increasingly global phenomenon where an emerging class of people faces insecurity, moving in and out of precarious work that gives little meaning to their lives.

This episode of SystemShift comes from Greenpeace Nordic and is hosted by Greenpeace campaigner and former Swedish politician and Green MEP, Carl Schlyter, and produced by Alexia Fridén, with additional support from Ariadna Rodrigo, Juliana Costa, Christian Aslund and Attila Kulcsár at Greenpeace.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.