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Putting Precarity Back to Production: A Case Study of Didi Kuaiche Drivers in the City of Nanjing, China

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  • Hao Qi
  • Zhongjin Li

Abstract

This article addresses the questions of why and how precarity should be conceptualized in a Marxian framework on labor. We argue that precarity should be put back to production, which has a twofold meaning: first, we emphasize that the labor process is of crucial importance for conceptualizing precarity, and precarity in the labor process is interrelated with precarity in the labor market and labor reproduction. Second, precarity should be understood through the relationships of production, particularly through capital-labor conflict. Using one case study on Didi Kuaiche drivers in the city of Nanjing, China, we examine the nature of precarity in the flexible labor of the digital economy and present a more nuanced micronarrative of precarious work in the ride-hailing service.

Suggested Citation

  • Hao Qi & Zhongjin Li, 2020. "Putting Precarity Back to Production: A Case Study of Didi Kuaiche Drivers in the City of Nanjing, China," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 52(3), pages 506-522, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:reorpe:v:52:y:2020:i:3:p:506-522
    DOI: 10.1177/0486613419859030
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ronaldo Munck, 2013. "The Precariat: a view from the South," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(5), pages 747-762.
    2. Jim Stanford, 2017. "The resurgence of gig work: Historical and theoretical perspectives," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 28(3), pages 382-401, September.
    3. Breman, Jan, 2013. "At Work in the Informal Economy of India: A Perspective from the Bottom Up," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198090342.
    4. Gerald Friedman, 2014. "Workers without employers: shadow corporations and the rise of the gig economy," Review of Keynesian Economics, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 2(2), pages 171-188, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Zhongjin Li & Hao Qi, 2023. "The Profitability Puzzle of Digital Labor Platforms," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 55(4), pages 617-628, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    precarity; relations of production; labor process; Didi drivers;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B51 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Socialist; Marxian; Sraffian
    • J46 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Informal Labor Market
    • J53 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Labor-Management Relations; Industrial Jurisprudence
    • J80 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - General

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