“Without the freedom to make ‘mistakes’, people cannot learn to take control of their lives successfully.” — Guy Standing Freedom Copy Share Image
Twentieth-century welfare state capitalism was historically unique in that national income was split between wages and profits, labour and capital. — Guy Standing Capitalism Copy Share Image
Since all political parties blame the others for the economic mess, it is unfair to attribute unemployment to individual behaviour. — Guy Standing Copy Share Image
What we need is a slow time movement to gain control over time and an overhaul of work statistics to give a… — Guy Standing Control Copy Share Image
The claim that if people had a basic income they would become lazy is prejudiced and has been refuted many times in… — Guy Standing Copy Share Image
Many low-income people in the U.S.A. charged with a crime opt to plead guilty to a lesser offence because they cannot afford… — Guy Standing Copy Share Image
The Latin root of 'precariousness' is 'to obtain by prayer.' The precariat must ask for favours, for charity, to show obsequiousness, to… — Guy Standing Authority Copy Share Image
A multi-tier social protection system must be based on a modest basic income so as to enable the precariat to build lives… — Guy Standing Balance Copy Share Image
Think of how much time is spent looking and applying for jobs. Some of those who have read my book on the… — Guy Standing Book Copy Share Image
Across Europe, not just in the U.K., the old Beveridge and Bismarckian variants of the welfare state have been dismantled. In their… — Guy Standing Europe Copy Share Image
Globalisation began what should be called the Great Convergence, creating a globalising labour market in which wages in emerging market economies slowly… — Guy Standing Europe Copy Share Image
Think of a public library, worth more for those who cannot afford numerous books. Think of a public waterway or fishing ground.… — Guy Standing Books Copy Share Image
We need a new model of social protection. Let us accept that jobs are not the magic solution - and that in… — Guy Standing Investing Copy Share Image
“Selective paternalism, for those on low incomes or for other groups needing state assistance, is perhaps even worse than general paternalism, since… — Guy Standing Paternalism Copy Share Image
Every time a government minister or spokesman lauds Magna Carta, let us boo or hiss. Shame them. And let us celebrate what… — Guy Standing Copy Share Image
Successive governments in the U.K. have worked to create a more flexible labour market, which also meant labour insecurity. They allowed wages… — Guy Standing Inequality Copy Share Image
The precariat faces chronic uncertainty about what to do, about what incomes to expect, about state benefits that might be their due,… — Guy Standing Copy Share Image
“My contention is that a basic income would increase both the amount and the productivity of ‘work’, and could also increase the… — Guy Standing Ancient greek Copy Share Image
“Too often, observers and commentators presume the poor are ‘stupid’, irrational or incapable of making rational decisions. Some enlightened experiments have shown… — Guy Standing Freedom Copy Share Image
“Recent research has shown that lack of basic security impairs mental as well as physical health, triggers various psychological disorders and reduces… — Guy Standing Cybersecurity Copy Share Image
“The importance of ethical governance, exemplified by the Norwegian Pension Fund, is highlighted by a deplorable UK government proposal in 2016 to… — Guy Standing Climate Copy Share Image
“The ‘republican’ variant is that freedom must mean non-domination. Stemming from Aristotle, republican freedom requires freedom from potential domination as well as… — Guy Standing Freedom Copy Share Image
“It is a sad irony that many countries possessing natural resources with high income potential have floundered into civil strife as factions… — Guy Standing Leadership Copy Share Image
“Whatever variant of freedom is espoused, a basic income would enhance it. However, in the liberal tradition a basic income would be… — Guy Standing Creative work Copy Share Image
A rich and diverse commons lowers the cost of living for those who use it. And throughout history, it has been those… — Guy Standing Commons Copy Share Image
In 1936, John Maynard Keynes predicted the 'euthanasia of the rentier' before the end of the 20th century. It did not happen. — Guy Standing Copy Share Image
Politicians should reflect on the well-documented fact that fearful, insecure people lose their sense of tolerance and altruism. — Guy Standing Altruism Copy Share Image
In the interests of competitiveness in a globalizing world economy, governments of all complexions introduced labour-market reforms that promoted flexibility but accentuated… — Guy Standing Economics Copy Share Image
The evidence shows if you give people security, they become better people. They develop their talents. They become better citizens. — Guy Standing Copy Share Image
Capital is taxed much less than labour; subsidies going to capital, the rich, and middle-income earners greatly exceed the benefits going to… — Guy Standing Copy Share Image
If you had a basic income, it would mean that everybody would have a base on top of which their earned income… — Guy Standing Copy Share Image
Retraining for the precariat is stressful and demoralising; often, they learn new tricks only to find them obsolescent or unwanted. — Guy Standing Copy Share Image
In the old 20th-century income distribution system, the shares of income going to capital, mainly in profits, and labor, in wages and… — Guy Standing Income distribution Copy Share Image
The precariat is the first class in history to be losing acquired rights - cultural, civil, social, economic, and political. — Guy Standing Class Copy Share Image
Although the precariat does not consist simply of victims, since many in it challenge their parents' labouring ethic, its growth has been… — Guy Standing Faith Copy Share Image
A person looking after a frail former lover is not working and not contributing to economic growth. But if he or she… — Guy Standing Economic growth Copy Share Image
Corporations and financiers have used their growing influence to induce governments and international organizations to construct a global framework of institutions and… — Guy Standing Corporations Copy Share Image
