Labor in the 21st century: challenges of post-Fordism / neoliberalism and the situation of working people in the modern global world

Abstract

The article examines the current problems of the global sphere of work and employment. The author historically assesses the causes and consequences of the structural transformations of the economy and social and labor relations as a result of the transition of the capitalist economy from fordism and keynesianism to post-fordism and neoliberalism at the end of the 20th century. Based on the analysis of a significant array of statistical and sociological information the author concludes that in the conditions of neoliberal economic globalization, labor has undergone significant changes in comparison with the period of the "glorious post-war thirty years" of capitalism. The implementation of radical economic reforms has led to an increase in employment vulnerability and a decrease in the quality of working life for many categories of workers in the modern world. The decline in the share of labor in GDP, the lag in wage growth rates from labor productivity, and the widespread incidence of informal and vulnerable employment, characteristic of this period, have become the main reasons for the growth of socioeconomic inequality and widespread poverty and poverty in the working environment in recent decades. Having considered the impact of the current process of automation, robotization and digitalization of the global economy, the author concludes that without changing the socio-economic and political configuration of the structure of the modern world, the potentially high utility of the latest achievements of science and technology will be significantly limited and subordinated mainly to the economic interests of capital owners, and will not work for the benefit of all humanity and social progress. The article pays special attention to studying the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of their impact on the position of employees in the modern world.