Generation Z is becoming impoverished; a new class is quietly emerging

Dora Mengüç

They wake up in the morning, but without a sense of belonging. They take a job, but they don’t know if it will still be there tomorrow. They pay rent, but they can no longer even imagine the possibility of owning a home.

Being young in Turkey is no longer merely a ‘transitional phase’ but a permanent state of being trapped. University graduates working as delivery drivers, those who’ve tucked their diplomas away in a drawer to chase freelance work, those juggling three jobs at once yet still struggling to make ends meet… And most importantly: a generation that feels they can never climb their way up, no matter what.

This picture is not unique to Turkey. But in Turkey, it is experienced much more sharply, more rapidly and more painfully. It is precisely to understand this rupture that the British economist Guy Standing has been pointing to the same concept for years: the precariat. That is, a new social class working in jobs lacking permanent job security, with low wages, part-time, project-based or in the informal sector.

According to Standing, who worked for many years at the International Labour Organisation (ILO), this represents a new social structure distinct from the traditional working class. In other words, millions of people living in a state of insecurity, debt, eroded rights and constant uncertainty.

This concept, introduced into the literature by Standing’s book *The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class*, is now used particularly to describe Generation Z. And the issue is not merely economic. It is an identity crisis. A crisis of the future. And a profound rupture that is increasingly turning into a political crisis. “The vast majority of young adults will live in precarious conditions, in debt and facing uncertainty,” says Standing. And this sentence feels less like a prediction and more like a snapshot of today.

Is what you call the “precariat” now merely a theoretical concept, or is it a concrete reality experienced by Generation Z? Does the new generation form the backbone of this class?

We are living in the age of globalised profit-seeking capitalism. Under this system, income, wealth and power are increasingly flowing to the plutocracy and the elite—that is, the true owners of property (physical, intellectual and financial). In this context, the precariat is the new mass working class, which is almost entirely dependent on income from labour.

The precariat encompasses people of all ages, yet each new generation faces a higher likelihood of joining this class than the one before. The precariat is defined across three dimensions: relations of production (forms of work), relations of distribution (forms of income and exploitation), and relations with the state (rights and actual access).

This means that the vast majority of young adults will face unstable and insecure jobs, receive low and fluctuating wages, often be deprived of social rights, live in constant debt, and lose the social and economic rights that previous generations fought to secure.

Young people are no longer merely unemployed; they are constantly working but without security. How is this ‘state of endless work’ changing the course of life?

The problem is not just precarious employment. This has existed since the dawn of capitalism. The real issue is the combination of this precariousness with ‘work done for labour’s sake but not paid for’—which includes constant job-hunting and constant retraining.

Furthermore, there is no longer a professional identity or career path. People are losing the sense of “being something”.

Debt, stress and uncertainty… Is this picture pushing young people away from politics, or is it, on the contrary, creating a new anger and movement?

I addressed this topic in my book subtitled “Taking Control in the Age of Uncertainty”. Young people in particular, but everyone within the precariat in general, are living with chronic uncertainty. This means facing ‘unknowns within the unknown’. They lack the resilience to withstand shocks or the resilience to recover. The result is debt, stress and rising ill health.

This situation can breed despair and social disorder. However, we are also seeing the precariat emerge as “a class in its own right”. In other words, people are realising that this is not a personal failure, but a consequence of the system. As this awareness spreads, political movements are emerging.

Universal basic income is frequently debated. Can this system truly free young people from this insecurity, or is it merely a temporary band-aid?

I have been working on basic income for decades and have participated in pilot schemes in various countries. Basic income must be defended as an economic right because it is a matter of justice; both social and ecological justice. It also strengthens three types of freedom. The freedom to say ‘no’, moral freedom, and protection from unrestrained power. Basic income is not a magic solution, but it must be part of progressive policies for the 21st century.

Research shows that young people, particularly young women and vulnerable groups, benefit the most. Furthermore, this system leads people to work more, not less. But this work enables people to pursue the jobs they actually want to do. Another important point is this: a basic income increases tolerance and solidarity in society. Because chronic insecurity drives people towards populists who practise the politics of fear. The rise of demagogues in the US and Europe is the result of two trends: increasing insecurity and debt. The education system producing individuals who are merely job-seekers rather than fostering culture and ethics. This is the central warning of my new book: we must restore education to a liberating sphere.

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Z Kuşağı yoksullaşıyor: Yeni sınıf sessizce büyüyor, published in BirGün newspaper on May 1, 2026.