This ambitious piece co-edited by Amanda Grenier, Chris Phillipson and Richard Settersten is the latest addition to the Policy Press book series, ‘Ageing in a Global Context’, which seeks to transform contemporary debates on the changing cultural, economic and social dimensions of ageing in a global society. The book explores the extent to which we can gain better understanding of the shifting cultural, economic circumstances of ageing through the conceptual lens of ‘precarity’ and ‘precariousness’. Precarity and precariousness are two distinct terms with an extensive body of research literature that ‘capture the insecurities, unwanted risks and hazards of contemporary life, typically associated with globalisation and neoliberal economic and social policies' (p. 2). The editors contend that the word ‘precarious’ provides unique opportunities to explore the ageing process across the lifecourse.
Central themes tackled in the book are inequality and insecurity, set against the backdrop of rising life expectancy, retrenchment in the welfare state, shifting family relationships, widening economic and social inequality, and globalisation. These themes are interrogated across 11 chapters through intersections of age, ethnicity, race, gender, migration and socio-economic status. Among the overarching questions framing the collection is: how does precarity and precariousness, as defined by the contributors, offer a fresh lens to explore insecurity, risk and vulnerability in later life?
The editors set their stall in the opening chapter, building the case for the concepts of precarity and precariousness to be included within the broad church of social and critical gerontology. This in itself is a pressing issue in the 21st century (Wellin, Reference Wellin2018). They also argue their proposition is mutually beneficial to this burgeoning body of literature. They then take the reader through a journey of the research literature, particularly its origins in the fields of labour studies, migration, sociology and geography, and in the context of international social movements. They conclude that the concepts are applicable and relevant to the study of ageing and critical gerontology. This discourse establishes the working theoretical framework for the following chapters. The editors’ task, which they do effectively, is to interweave and orchestrate the various contributions into a coherent whole. The editors have assembled a diverse range of contributors from academic researchers, a doctoral candidate, policy makers and practitioners from the United Kingdom, United States of America (USA) and Canada. Their contributions span a broad range of disciplines from gerontology, sociology, social care and business studies.
The book is organised in three parts, each building on the editors’ statement of intent. The contributions are a combination of literature reviews and empirical work. Part 1: Life Course Perspectives on Precarity (Chapters 2 and 3) is made up of chapters exploring precarity and ageing across the lifecourse and human development. These chapters position the lifecourse as precarious form of life. Part II: Precarity Across Situations (Chapters 4–7) explores and theorises the notion of ‘ontological precarity’ to extend debates on precarity. Subjects discussed are its impact on older workers, migration and how we undertake social research in this field for older people. Part III: Austerity, Care and Social Responses to Precarity (Chapters 8–11) presents a series of reflections on precarity and precariousness in relation to care in old age, employment and retirement using health care in the USA as the setting. The concluding chapter pulls the various strands together by looking at the way that economic and social changes have created precarious environments for growing old in the 21st century. It returns to its opening remarks by reasserting the mutually enriching contributions that precarity and precariousness make to our understanding of ageing, and ageing to the understanding of precarity.
The publication is timely, given the risks and uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic and how, in a relatively short period of time, it has raised profound questions around inequality, the care system and the lack of preparedness in our protection of older age groups who have been disproportionately affected. The book is certainly a thought-provoking read which will appeal to a wide academic, policy and practitioner audience.
