Precarity

A term noted by author Mark Fisher in his essay 'Time Wars.'

Precarity describes the situation where the formerly stable fixtures of life - work, home life, and the time available to dedicate to such things equally - become more fractured and unstable, leading to an existentially precarious and exhausting way of life.

Bill would love to own his own home, but the precarity involved in balancing his new job, old debt load, healthcare, and relationships means he has neither the time or money to dedicate to home ownership.

by Parker51 August 17, 2012

Theory of Global Precarization

The socioeconomic theory describing the deliberate, systemic creation of economic insecurity as a tool of social control and profit maximization. According to this theory, the instability of modern work—gig economy jobs, zero-hour contracts, constant fear of layoffs—isn't an accident of market forces but a feature of late capitalism designed to keep workers desperate, compliant, and unable to organize. When everyone's one missed paycheck away from disaster, no one strikes, no one demands better conditions, and no one threatens the system. The theory of global precarization explains why stability has become a luxury good and why your parents' promise of "work hard and you'll be secure" now sounds like a fairy tale.

Example: "He explained the theory of global precarization to his friend who wondered why millennials couldn't just 'pull themselves up by their bootstraps.' 'It's not that we're lazy,' he said. 'It's that the system is designed to keep us insecure—no stable jobs, no pensions, no safety net. We're supposed to be too scared to demand better. It's working.' His friend went back to his two gig jobs and hoped the theory was wrong. It wasn't."

by Dumu The Void February 15, 2026