Serge Paugam

Poverty and Social Exclusion: A Sociological View

The sociological literature on both poverty and social exclusion is large and varied, and the abundance of references means that providing a review is an arduous task. It becomes even more difficult when trying to compare different nations or cultures. Thus, there is no question of providing an exhaustive study of recent, past and ongoing research; however, it is more realistic to establish the complex linkage between this research, and social and political debate. The main problem for scholars in this field is constructing a research question which, whilst being distinct from contemporary ways of thinking which characterize the social debate (science must distance itself from the subject matter in order to build a conceptual framework) can also stimulate debate. Sociologists will favour studying what appears dysfunctional or anomalous in the social system at any given moment. They must, therefore, partially base their work in social debate. But the science which they aim to develop cannot simply be social criticism or, conversely, an ideological justification of existing norms.

Formes d'intégration professionnelle et attitudes syndicales et politiques

Serge Paugam : Formen der beruflichen Integration und gewerkschaftliche und politische Einstellungen. ; ; Dieser Aufsatz schlagt vor gleichzeitig den Befriedigungsgrad an der Arbeit und den Stabilitatsgrad des Arbeitsverhaltnisses als zweifache Grundlage der beruflichen Integration zu berucksichtigen, wobei die erste auf die Produktivitatslogik der Industriegesellschaft und die Erganzung der Funktionen in der Arbeitsorganisation verweist, wahrend die zweite die Beschutzerlogik des Wohlfahrtsstaates anspricht, im Sinne der Anerkennung der sozialen Anspruche an dem Arbeitsverhaltnis. Durch die Kombinierung beider Grundlagen unterscheidet der Verfasser vier Typen der beruflichen Integration : die sichere Integration, die unsichere Integration, die muhsame Integration und die entwertende Integration. Die Untersuchung fuhrt zur Infragestellung der Hypothese einer einfachen Polarisierung zwischen einer « underclass », die alle Nachteile hauft, und den ubrigen Gehaltsempfangern. Sie unterstreicht auch, dass der Radikalismus und der Wunsch zum sozialen Wechsel, wie man sie in der Randbevolkerung der weniger integrierten Gehaltsempfanger beobachten kann, nicht der Ausdruck eines revolutionaren Bewusstseins sind, sondern eher eines Enttauschungsprozesses gegenuber der Unternehmenswelt und der politischen Welt im allgemeinen. Dieser Prozess macht sich besonders bei den Gehaltsempfangern bemerkbar, die kurz vor einem entwertenden Integration stehen, durch ein starkeres Misstrauen gegenuber den Arbeitervertretern, durch ein tieferes Gefuhl der Unbrauchbarkeit im Unternehmen und durch eine grossere Enthaltung bei Wahlen. Diese Erscheinung darf als Ausdruck betrachtet werden, sowohl fur eine zumindest telweise Leere in der politischen Vertretung und fur eine Auflosung der sozialen Bindungen.

La perception de la pauvreté sous l’angle de la théorie de l’attachement

Resume La naturalisation, la culpabilisation et la victimisation constituent trois formes de perception de la pauvrete diffuses et inevitablement presentes dans toutes les societes. Cet article etudie, au-dela des facteurs de variation generalement pris en compte, ce qui renvoie plus specifiquement a des modes de regulation des liens sociaux que l’on peut analyser a partir d’une typologie de configurations d’attachement.

Durkheim e o vínculo aos grupos: uma teoria social inacabada

Durkheim sustenta a tese da diversidade dos vinculos sociais, que constituem muitas fontes variadas da moral, ou, mais precisamente, muitas possibilidades diferenciadas para o individuo elevar-se a vida moral. O homem solidario de Durkheim e um individuo ao mesmo tempo autonomo e ligado a outros e a sociedade, um individuo consciente das regras morais que implicam a participacao na vida social. Se ele as aceita, e pelo prazer que encontra na reciprocidade da associacao e no sentimento de ser util. Essa consciencia permanece, todavia, fragil, ela corre ate mesmo o risco de desaparecer em certas circunstâncias. Interessa-lhe, entao, mante-la: tal e a funcao do Estado. Durkheim conceituou, de certa forma, um modo particular de regulacao social dos vinculos a partir de uma representacao organicista da solidariedade. E preciso reconhecer a forca dessa teoria, mesmo se o conhecimento das sociedades modernas nos conduz a ressaltar que podem existir outras configuracoes ou regimes de vinculos. A teoria social do vinculo, tal como podemos construir hoje, e ao mesmo tempo a herdeira do nucleo conceitual deixado pelo fundador da sociologia francesa e o resultado das aquisicoes da sociologia comparativa, que e fundada sobre uma abordagem nao normativa das sociedades modernas e sensivel a sua diversidade.

Poverty and Attachment Regimes in Modern Societies

In my book Les formes elementaires de la pauvrete (Paugam 2005) I argued that we cannot study poverty without understanding the relationship between the poor and society. My analysis was based on the sociological definition of poverty given by Simmel in 1908 in his study on ‘The Poor’ (Simmel 1965). Following this perspective, I have proposed that two dimensions be considered to define elementary forms of poverty.

Work and Employment Precariousness: a transnational concept?

In France and, more generally, in European societies, precariousness has become a dominant theme in the research on the changing world of work and salaried society. This debate renewed the approach of inequality. It refers to two dimensions: work precariousness - increased productivity, work intensification and new relations vis-a-vis the work conditions - and employment precariousness - job insecurity, labour contract flexibility and instability. The heuristic value of this concept was quickly recognized, which explains its spread beyond the borders of Europe. In Latin America, the sociologists use it increasingly to describe the situation in their countries. The generalization of this concept proves problematic, however, if we forget the historical particularities that give the precariousness its structural form and its meaning for individuals. In fact, since this concept was developed in France and Europe in reference to a labour society decaying, can we transpose it mechanically to emerging countries in which we have been observing a progressive formalization and extension of wage labour? To check if the concept of precariousness can be used at a transnational level, it is first necessary to consider the effect of economic and social policy cycles on the construction of representations of wage labour. These cycles are different in different cultural areas. But the notion of work precariousness also needs to be revisited. The new production methods seem to cause more suffering at work. Are they similar from one country to another? A comprehensive critical review is needed. In this paper we mobilize comparative data produced in Brazil as well as in France in order to confront those issues. In Francia e, piu in generale, nelle societa europee, la precarizzazione e divenuta un tema dominante nell’ambito del filone di ricerca sulle trasformazioni che avvengono nel mondo del lavoro e della societa salariata. Questo dibattito ha rinnovato l’approccio alle disuguaglianze. Esso si riferisce a due dimensioni: la precarizzazione del lavoro – crescente produttivita, intensificazione dei ritmi lavorativi e nuove relazioni rispetto alle condizioni di lavoro da un lato e insicurezza lavorativa, flessibilita dei contratti di lavoro e instabilita dall’altro. Il valore euristico del concetto di precarizzazione e stato da subito riconosciuto, il che spiega la sua diffusione oltre i confini europei. Nell’America Latina, i sociologi tendono a usarlo in misura crescente allo scopo di descrivere la situazione dei loro paesi. La generalizzazione di tale concetto risulta tuttavia problematica, se dimentichiamo le particolarita storiche che conferiscono alla precarizzazione la sua forma strutturale e il suo significato per gli individui. Di fatto, dal momento che tale concetto e stato elaborato in Francia e in Europa con riferimento al declino della societa salariale, possiamo generalizzarlo meccanicamente ai paesi emergenti nei quali vi e stata una progressiva formalizzazione ed estensione del lavoro salariato? Per verificare se il concetto di precarizzazione puo essere usato a livello transnazionale e necessario prendere in considerazione gli effetti del ciclo economico e delle politiche sociali sulla costruzione della rappresentazione del lavoro salariato. Questi cicli sono differenti nelle diverse aree culturali. Anche la nozione di precarizzazione deve essere rivista. I nuovi metodi produttivi sembrano causare una piu elevata sofferenza sul luogo di lavoro. Tendono essi a cambiare da un paese all’altro? Anche in tal caso e necessaria una rassegna critica che copra un maggior numero di paesi. In questo saggio abbiamo messo a confronto dati relativi al Brasile e alla Francia per affrontare le questioni che abbiamo esposto.

Relectures de Raymond Aron, Les Désillusions du progrès (1969): Les contradictions constitutives de la modernité

L’ouvrage de Raymond Aron, Les desillusions du progres. Essai sur la dialectique de la modernite publie en 1969, apres l’avoir ete en anglais en 1965, entendait repondre a une serie d’enigmes : comment se fait-il que la prosperite des annees d’apres-guerre, entrainee par une croissance de l’economie, le plein emploi et la generalisation de la protection sociale, suscite autant de frustrations et de troubles dans le corps social ? Comment se fait-il que l’on parle tant des inegalites alors qu’elles diminuent progressivement ? Comment se fait-il que les theses de l’alienation, de la domination, de l’asservissement soient si repandues alors que jamais autant encore dans l’histoire, les conditions de l’emancipation et de l’affirmation de la personnalite n’ont ete aussi favorables ? Comment se fait-il enfin qu’a l’heure de la mondialisation des echanges, le besoin de rechercher l’authenticite dans les particularismes et les formes traditionnelles de l’identite soit aussi pregnant ? Les reponses d’Aron ont eclaire de nombreux sociologues, a tel point que plusieurs d’entre eux voient encore aujourd’hui dans ce livre une contribution essentielle a la comprehension des societes modernes. Mais aucune relecture n’avait ete faite jusqu’ici de facon systematique. Tel est l’exercice qui a reuni dans une table ronde, sous la presidence de Serge Paugam, trois jeunes sociologues, Nicolas Duvoux, Cecile Van de Velde et Marion Ledoux-Wlodarczyk, a l’occasion d’une journee d’etudes Raymond Aron, qui s’est tenue le 14 juin 2012 a l’EHESS sur « Science et conscience de la societe. Les transformations de la sociologie francaise depuis 1960 ». Pres de cinquante ans apres la parution de la version anglaise, les quatre auteurs reviennent sur les trois dialectiques analysees dans les trois parties qui structurent cet ouvrage (l’egalite, la socialisation et l’universalite) et tentent de mettre a l’epreuve ce cadre analytique en le confrontant a la fois aux interrogations actuelles de la sociologie francaise et aux tensions qui traversent l’ensemble de la societe.