The second in the 2021 series of Gramsci Goes LIVE and Digital events explores the transformation of the political economy and the welfare state, in contemporary societies.

The debate will be presented through an exchange between two authors of The rising invisible majority (Ferragina, Arrigoni and Spreckelsen, 2020) Emanuele Farragina (Sciences Po Paris) and Alessandro Arrigoni (King's College London, alumnus).

Through the study of Marx, Polanyi and Thompson, Emanuele and Alessandro will address contemporary issues, such as the potential of basic income to transform social protection and the regulation of precarious work and automation.

The conversation is expected to provoke a critical review of the myths that propagate in public debate and are often ‘naturally’ internalized, offering some critical tools to understand the crisis of modern capitalism. The panellists will also consider how the market economy contributes to reproducing dynamics of power and domination across gender and class.

Emanuele is Associate Professor of Sociology at Sciences Po Paris, he was a Departmental Lecturer at the University of Oxford and is a columnist for the Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano.

Alessandro is an independent researcher. He holds a PhD in European & International Studies from King's College London. He has also been a researcher in the Department of Social Policy & Intervention at the University of Oxford.