ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the concept of insecurity through a theoretical reconstruction of Karl Polanyi, challenging the hegemonic Northern interpretations of his theory by contrasting the Great Transformation in the South with that of the North. It discusses the network in a historical and cross-national comparison, identifying similarity among and difference between the three countries. The chapter explores a range of livelihood strategies as a response to the growing flexibility of the labour market and long-term unemployment. Many find livelihoods as street vendors struggling over public spaces in order to exercise their right to work. Others, often undocumented immigrants, find work in clothing sweatshops in the inner cities of Johannesburg, Sao Paulo and Mumbai or in the 'electronic sweatshops' of Sao Paulo's call centre industry where they work in precarious conditions under close surveillance. The chapter also explores innovative attempts to organize the self-employed in Dharavi slum in Mumbai through the Labour, Education and Research Network (LEARN).
