Informal Proletariat. Social Sciences Research Paper

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Reading response
Who is the informal proletariat? What kind of jobs do they have? This week’s reading played an important role in understanding what an informal proletariat is and the kind of jobs they have. I was able to understand that the informal proletariat is the increasing casualized world of formal employment and the depths of the informal sector. It can also be seen as a school of urban skills from which rural immigrants graduate to formal sector jobs. The kind of jobs in the informal proletariat includes food stalls and restaurants, Berber shops, dressmaking shops, salons, or petty trading among others (page 177).
Is the micro-entrepreneurship advocated by De Soto a solution to urban poverty? Why or why not?
De Soto advocates for micro-entrepreneurship which seems to be a solution to modern poverty. This is because he uses a simple recipe of getting the state out of the way and providing micro-entrepreneurs with more credit and giving squatters more land. It can also be a solution to modern poverty where micro-entrepreneurs dominate the market produce for transubstantiation hence eradicating modern povertyCITATION MIK06 \l 1033 (DAVIS).
What most shocked you about child labor in the slums?
I was shocked to find that almost half of the boys and girls between the ages of 10-14 involve themselves in a number of activities to earn a living in the slums. I was also surprised by the fact that in Asia, Dhaka have a high number of child laborers. In addition, the earnings from these child laborers act as source of income for the poor, female and also male-headed families. I was also shocked that Dalit’s and Muslims sell their children in exchange for loans and cash payments. According to UNICEF, child labor in the carpet industry is done through the kidnapping of children by their parents. Children are kidnaped and kept in captivity. They are also forced to work for 20 hours a day. I was shocked to learn that India is the largest notorious center for child labor where the glass bangles worn by married women are made by children.
What is the present state of Kinshasa and how did it get to be that way?
The present state of Kinshasa can be described as utterly collapsing in terms of the formal economy. It is estimated that less than 5 percent of the residents earn a regular salary where the rest depend on vegetable farming done on their small plots. The healthcare is rampant as two-thirds of the total population is malnourished and the majority of adults suffering from HIV/AIDS (page 193). Kinshasa has been wrecked by dictatorship leadership of Mobutu which lasted for 32 years. Other reasons which have made Kinshasa be in its current state is the chronic civil war and the change in most structural designs. Kinshasa also can be termed as a dead city where the informal sector is dictated by poor people who tend to offer economic resistance.
Are there any solutions to the poverty of the slums?
Poverty in the slums can be reduced by coming up with housing projects to re-house shun-dwellers. Housing projects like Ciudad Kennedy in America which can accommodate approximately 80,000 people can greatly reduce poverty in slums. Also t...