Book contents
- Who Gets What?
- SSRC Anxieties of Democracy
- Sponsored by the Social Science Research Council
- Who Gets What?
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Author Biographies
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- Part I People
- Part II Places
- Part III Politics
- 9 Electoral Realignments in the Atlantic World
- 10 Political Parties in the New Politics of Insecurity
- 11 The Peculiar Politics of American Insecurity
- 12 The Anxiety of Precarity
- 13 Increasing Instability and Uncertainty among American Workers
- Index
- References
12 - The Anxiety of Precarity
The United States in Comparative Perspective
from Part III - Politics
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 August 2021
Book contents
- Who Gets What?
- SSRC Anxieties of Democracy
- Sponsored by the Social Science Research Council
- Who Gets What?
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Author Biographies
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- Part I People
- Part II Places
- Part III Politics
- 9 Electoral Realignments in the Atlantic World
- 10 Political Parties in the New Politics of Insecurity
- 11 The Peculiar Politics of American Insecurity
- 12 The Anxiety of Precarity
- 13 Increasing Instability and Uncertainty among American Workers
- Index
- References
Summary
This chapter explores the dynamics of precarity and socioeconomic risk across the most advanced industrial countries. We situate the United States in a comparative framework to identify the characteristics it shares with other rich democracies as well as the distinctive dynamics of precarity in the American context. The United States stands out for the way it combines uncommonly high levels of individual-level exposure to various risks with low levels of collectively provided insurance to mitigate the impact of these risks. Moreover, we show that the institutions of the American political economy operate to compound risk, actively promoting what we call risk contagion, as misfortune in one arena spreads to foment misfortune in others.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Who Gets What?The New Politics of Insecurity, pp. 281 - 306Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021
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