For its upcoming special issue, the Pervasive Labour Union (previously Immaterial Labour Union) is welcoming contributions that deal with the reciprocal influence of entrepreneurialism and precarity, i.e. entreprecariat.

While an array of diverse forms of precarity (financial, professional, and even existential) is becoming the norm for a growing number of people, so it is the necessity to tackle them entrepreneurially. As witnessed by the emergence of terms like ‘entrepreneurism’, individuals as well as institutions are increasingly urged to think of themselves as brands, companies or startups. Against a backdrop characterized by relentless destabilization, entrepreneurship, the practice of starting and managing a business through risk, turns into entrepreneurialism, a universal doctrine with its own dogmas, martyrs and plans of salvation.

In this special issue, we want to explore the multiple ways in which entrepreneurial ideas, models and approaches relate to current perceptions of precarity. What happens when the rhetoric of technological innovation meets career-oriented self-help literature? How does the cult of Elon Musk or Marissa Mayer and their unlikely sleeping patterns perturb narratives of self-affirmation and professional lifestyles? When does the conscious adoption of the entrepreneurial attitude turn into a mandate? How to articulate the threshold between passion and self-exploitation? What is the role played by technology? How do productivity tools, social media and wellbeing apps transform or intensify the professional government of the self? Finally, is it possible to combine the entrepreneurialist drive with collective expressions of precarity? Or should insecurity itself become a paradoxically stable ground on which to build social cohesion?

We welcome your contributions on these issues. The deadline is the 31st of July 30th of June . By then, we will need:

Texts, be they in the form of satire, theory, poetry, fiction, propaganda, educational content, personal rant (max. 1000 words)

Images (illustrations, photomontage, pictures, memes, comic strips, etc.)

Any other creative intervention that you consider related to the theme

Contributions don’t need to be unpublished. You can submit yours either to s@silviolorusso.com or immateriallaborunion@lists.riseup.net.

Feel free to share or repost this call. Many thanks.

Best,

Silvio Lorusso & Lídia Pereira (Pervasive Labour Union)

Also published on Medium.