"The container is the universal unit of the global commodity society"

The precariat is created by such new forms of capitalist production. In fact, the format of the new processes is easy enough to describe. Nowadays, the economy is characterized by objects measuring 12.2x2.7x2.4 metres, made from steel sheeting with lockable doors – local variations in material and size admitted. We know that globalization would be impossible unless all relevant data can be digitized. We also begin to realize that it presupposes the precarization of work. But did we have an inkling it would also presuppose that goods are containerized?

The container is the universal unit of the global commodity society; a form that adapts to all kinds of products and contents, that facilitates their swift exchange. Correspondingly, the precariat seems to be a term that refers to a basic form of labour, which submissively and flexibly adjusts to any kind of workplace, form of employment and system of production.

Read More | "The Container" | Stefan Jonsson | ? Eurozine