The transformation of labour and social politics in neoliberalism

pages: 129-146

Abstract

The text has three aims: first, to explain the relationship between capitalism and neoliberalism, as well as to clarify the very term „neoliberalism“, diverging from the usual explanations; second, to trace important changes in the organization of labour in late capitalism; and three, to establish the consequences of both neoliberalism and the new organization of labour with regards to social policy, but also to describe and classify the most important forms of change in social policy. Besides these main theoretical goals, the text also debates the limits of the „welfare state“, in the light of deeper structural regularities in capitalism. Keywords: neoliberalism, lean production, flexibilization, welfare, workfare