Labor Transformation: Genesis of a New Social System? (Comments on a Discussion)

The article presents the key points of the discussion on the problems of labor transformation and diffusion of social structure at the current stage of development of the capitalist social system. The discussion was interdisciplinary in nature, with the participation of representatives of sociological and economic science from the institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences and leading universities. The initial formulation of the problems for discussion included the results of the analysis of contradictions indicating the formation of elements of a new system of social relations within capitalism (transitional relations), which can be called post-capitalist. The results of the discussion of the following issues are covered in detail: should creative activity be considered primarily a characteristic of the social-class structure, or does this relate to a greater extent to the spiritual world of a person; the problems of the precariat as a new social stratum (protoclass), its distinctive characteristics and the problem of its heterogeneity; peculiarities of the exploitation of a creative worker. The discussion also included questions about the appropriateness of using the terms “diffusion” or “differentiation” in the context of the ongoing transformation of the social structure and the increasing role of the creative nature of labour, and the problem of how new social strata (protoclasses) can be considered as bearers of liberating tendencies aimed at overcoming alienation. An important place in the discussion was given to the problem of theoretical qualification of the modern social system, in particular, arguments were presented in favor of defining it not as “late capitalism” (which is quite widespread in scientific discourse at the moment), but as “early postcapitalism”.

socio-economic development, social structure, late capitalism, postcapitalism, human potential, the creative content of the work, social creativity, creative class, precariat