Neoliberalism isn’t a new concept any more. Using it, along with “deindustrialization,” to describe changes in the core economies since the 1970s has become a kind of truism. But more recently, activists have started to consider what the implications of this regime of capital have been on class structure: is something fundamentally new and different happening? Does the condition of insecurity and fragmentation of labor change radical perspectives on the labor movement, invalidating strategies for trade unionism and reform?

What some have started to call “the precariat” is a concept that bundles together these feelings and theories, and is a term that has gained currency with many on the Left.

Charlie Post, author of the book American Road to Capitalism, argues that “the precariat” is a misleading category for understanding the changes working people face today. This interview, conducted by Tessa Echeverria and Andrew Sernatinger for Black Sheep Radio, discusses how radicals should relate to the existing labor movement and how our tactics should change in response to new economic conditions.