Particularism and Security: Urban Labour Markets and Social Classes: Jan Breman (Sociology of “Developing Societies”: South Asia: Alavi Hamza and John Harries)

Lecture and Explanation:

Particularism and Security: Urban Labour Markets and Social Classes: Jan Breman. 1989


Keywords: 
Job Market, Social Structure, Social Nexus, Education and Skill, Jan Breman

The University of Delhi, Bachelor of Arts, Sociology of India: Images and Reality

Reading to be covered:


Breman, Jan 1989, Particularism and Security: Urban Labour Markets and Social Classes, in Alavi Hamza and John Harries (eds.), Sociology of “Developing Societies”: South Asia, London: Macmillan, pp. 134-147


Women Working in Rajasthan under MGNREGA Programme 10.01.2017
Women Working in Rajasthan under MGNREGA Programme 10.01.2017, Photographed by Anil Kumar


This chapter is talking about the relation between job and social structure. The article is relating that how seeking, need and getting a job is related to the social structure, social relations, and social hierarchy. How the subject matter of job is related to the Indian social realities such as caste, religion, region and personal relations. In India the job is not simply a job, this is an extension of the hard social realities which is operating through the social structure. The behaviour and exercise related to the job are not very professional in India. This is not also person neutral or focusing on that who is the most suitable person for the job. Rather matters that who is “our people”. The meaning of “our people” denotes here who belongs from my community, caste, region, religion etc. Jan Breman wrote this (Particularism and Security: Urban Labour Markets and Social Classes) article during the 1980s but this is still true in the current days in 2021. The entire article is discussing the social relation and social aspects of jobs.

Pg. 268

Author Jan Breman begins with the study from the Gujrat about the job crisis and structure of the labour market and saying that the lack of work (joblessness) is the predominant characteristic of the local economy in Gujrat, also in the urban sector. This naturally has its effects on the structure of the labour market.

The extremely skewed distribution of economic opportunity among the various population groups is in no way a new phenomenon. In the job market, the traditional system is still in force through with some modification, BECAUSE of scarcity not because of the force of tradition. Here the Supply and Demand Theory applies in the job market.

What is the supply and Demand Theory? #Click-to-know-more https://www.britannica.com/topic/supply-and-demand

Here it not means that the socially upper class are succeeding in monopolizing the most attractive jobs, just because they are coming from the upper class or caste.

RATHER their members have some advantage to get these jobs. Having a huge amount of the land is the most common and traditional advantage they (upper class and upper caste) have. And because of the land, they were enjoying economic prosperity. They could invest this economic prosperity in education. Modern education gave them modern skills. All together the upper caste and upper class have economically, socially, educationally advantages to get modern jobs.

All these nexus helping them to remain to stay in the upper class, and upper caste.

#THEREFORE now you can say that caste hierarchy is not only (or not solely) depends on the location of birth. #RATHER other ‘worldly’ realities are also matter. #HOWEVER for me the social hierarchy including in India is more depends on the ‘worldly’ realities, then just the location of the birth. #BUT the social nexus, and the idea of purity of blood, thus the endogamy is making India a caste-based society.

Mobility

Pg. 270

Scarcity not only has its repercussion on the question of who should be considered for which type of work and in what way, but it also has its effect on labour mobility. HOW? >> Predefined or restriction to do work >> is restricting the mobility of the labour >> to opt for jobs according to their choice. Hence >> the mobility is affected and restricted >> to predefined one >> and this is predefined by their >> location of the birth.

Mobility of the rural people are also restricted and limited because of the level of education and skills >> which is further depends on >> socio-economic background >> that is caste and economic background >> these social nexus working in all parts of India.

#NOT-IN-SYLLABUS: Life Chances: Max Weber. These social and economic restrictions are limiting the life chances of the downtrodden society. #PLEASE-NOTE this is not part of the article but for #FURTHER-STUDY you read here about the Life Chances https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_chances

171

The difficulty in capturing a place on the labour market and the necessity of doing it, within the restricted socio-economic network of which one forms part, does not mean that there is no vertical mobility.

Although the road of upward mobility is blocked, the road downwards is all too easy to traverse.

As the inflow of the labour market continues, pressure on the sources of livelihood increases thus accentuation the competition for work.

From one generation to the next generation, more and more families have to face the problem of consolidating their position in society. Inequality then seems to increase rather than decrease.

BECAUSE these days a job require more skills and training than earlier >> the question is >> that who can acquire the modern or higher skills and training >> the answer is >> that only those who can afford it >> and who can afford it? >> Those who are economically well off >> and we know that some section of the society has more economic resources than the others >>, therefore, those who were the upper strata are remaining in the upper strata. Once again all these social and economic nexus are making society intact in terms of mobility. However, it not mean that society is literally intact but it only means that society has very little space for mobility.

272

Social Class

The elite, secure and high jobs, in general, belong to the upper strata of society. In the Indian context, it is caste. #BECAUSE-OF. Economic background of the person and group, which is responsible for access to modern education and training as well as the social background which is responsible for the social network and the social nexus. #AS-WE-HAVE-SEEN-EARLIER

All these nexus in society are constantly maintaining the status quo in society. This means all those who are in the upper strata are remaining in the upper strata and all those who are in the lower strata are remain in the lower strata.

#NOT-IN-SYLLABUS: the status quo is maintained in the society more by the cultural-reproduction then the economic and social structure. The economic and social sutures are itself depends on the cultural structure and reproduction in society. #PLEASE-REFER Antonio Gramsci (1891 – 1937) and Max Weber (1864 – 1920) for #FURTHER and #HIGHER-STUDY

273

Meaning of Lumpenproletariat

(Lumpen + Proletariat), Origin of the word 1940s

Meaning of Lumpen =

(a) (in Marxist contexts) uninterested in revolutionary advancement.

"the lumpen public is enveloped in a culture of dependency"

(b) of or relating to dispossessed and uprooted individuals cut off from the economic and social class with which they might normally be identified lumpen, proletariat lumpen intellectuals

(c) boorish and stupid.

Meaning of Proletariat   =

(a) the labouring class especially: the class of industrial workers who lack their own means of production and hence sell their labour to live

(b) the lowest social or economic class of a community

They are with the criminal tendency and no one appreciating them. They are declassing and have nowhere to live, they have broken all ties with their original environment, they have no regular or immediate contact with the surroundings.

Petite Bourgeoisie

Petit =

(1) small and unimportant - छोटा और नगण्य

He didn’t want to get involved with the petty details.

petty crime/theft [that is not very serious]

 

(2) unkind or unpleasant to other people (for a reason that does not seem very important) - दूसरों के प्रति निर्दयी या अप्रिय (बिना किसी विशेष कारण के)

 

Bourgeoisie =

Capitalist Class, Middle Class, (Origin early 18th century: French)

 

Who is Petit Bourgeoisie? Give an Example of the Petit Bourgeoisie.


Owner of the small scale of enterprises, certain types of one-man enterprise eg craftsman, shopkeepers, economic broker, moneylender, labour recruiter, contractor, etc. They are resisting the change because they are enjoying their position in society.

 

274

 

The fragmentation of the labour market is not combined with any form of poverty-sharing but is more indicative of a search for security within limited group linkage. 



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