Bernard Friot is a French sociologist and

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

. He is (since 2009) an

emeritus professor ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

of Sociology, and previously taught at

Paris West University Nanterre La Défense Paris Nanterre University (), formerly University of Paris West, Paris-X and commonly referred to as Nanterre, is a public research university based in Nanterre, Hauts-de-Seine, France, in the Paris metropolitan area. It is one of the most pres ...

. He's been a member of the French Communist Party (PCF) since 1970. He began his academic career in 1971 at the

University Institutes of Technology A university technical institute or ''IUT'' () is a type of post-secondary vocational college in France, similar to the ''yrkeshögskolan'' in Sweden. This is a type of educational institution, usually in small and medium-sized towns, that of ...

of the

University of Lorraine The University of Lorraine (), abbreviated as UL, is a public research university based in Lorraine, Grand Est region, France. It was created on 1 January 2012, by the merger of Henri Poincaré University, Nancy 2 University, Paul Verlaine Un ...

as an assistant and then as a

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

in economics. His economics

PhD thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

relates to the building up of the French social security system between 1920 and 1980. He challenges the interpretation that makes the 1945 Social Security a necessary element of the Fordist era of

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

. He insists instead on the "anti-capitalist nature of the institutions of socialization of wages". He leads th
European Institute of Wages
and a popular education association calle
Réseau Salariat
which promotes the idea of a "qualification-based wage for life" (''salaire à la qualification personnelle'') as an alternative proposal to the

basic income Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive a minimum income in the form of an unconditional transfer payment, i.e., without a means test or need to perform Work (hu ...

- an idea denounced by Friot as "the spare wheel of capitalism". His research focuses on the sociology of wages and comparing social protection systems in Europe. His work has also focused on

pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...

s, going against the French government's proposed reforms in 2010. The living wage supported by Bernard Friot is, according to his analyse, the best subversive answer to the four main institutions of capitalism : lucrative property (not private property, only private property where profit is taken from), credit (a state does not need to borrow to finance investment), employment market (the central base of capitalism causing the blackmail to unemployment), the assessing of

economic value In economics, economic value is a measure of the benefit provided by a goods, good or service (economics), service to an Agent (economics), economic agent, and value for money represents an assessment of whether financial or other resources are ...

according to the duration of working. To be fully understood, Bernard Friot developed through Reseau Salariat many tutoring videos. His goal is to show the "dejà-là", meaning the actual waging by socialized value in the French economic system via the social security, the public employment, etc. During the

2023 French pension reform unrest A series of protests began in France on 19 January 2023 with a demonstration of over one million people nationwide, organised by opponents of the pension reform bill proposed by the Borne government to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64 ...

, ''

L'Obs (), previously known as (2014–2024), (1964–2014), (1954–1964), (1953–1954), and (1950–1953), is a weekly French news magazine. Based in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, ' is one of the three most prominent French news magazines a ...

'' considered Bernard Friot as a key figure in the pension debate.

Bibliography

* ''Le communisme qui vient'' (with Bernard Vasseur), October 2024, ed. La Dispute * ''Prenons le pouvoir sur nos retraites'', 2023, ed. La Dispute *''Retraites : généraliser le droit au salaire'' (with Nicolas Castel), 2022, Les Éditions du Croquant *''En travail. Conversations sur le communisme'' (with Frederic Lordon), 2021, ed. La Dispute *''Vaincre Macron'', 2017, ed. La Dispute *''Émanciper le travail - Entretiens avec Patrick Zech'', 2014, Éditions La Dispute * ''The Wage under Attack: Employment Policies in Europe'' (with Bernadette Clasquin), 2013, PIE-Peter Lang *''Puissances du salariat'', new expanded edition, 2012, ed. La Dispute (pocket edition, with new introduction, 2021) *''L’Enjeu du salaire'', 2012, ed. La Dispute
''Comprendre l’écologie politique''
UFAL, 2012, chap. 7: "Pour une citoyenneté révolutionnaire" (interview) *''L’Enjeu des retraites'', 2010, ed. La Dispute * ''Wage and Welfare (with Bernadette Clasquin, Nathalie Moncel and Mark Harvey),'' 2004, PIE-Peter Lang * ''Et la cotisation sociale créera l’emploi'', 1999, ed. La Dispute *''La Construction sociale de l’emploi en France, des années 1960 à aujourd'hui (with José Rose)'', 1996, ed. L’Harmattan

References

External links

Interview with Radio Univers

Institut européen du salariat

Interview on France Inter's Là-bas_si_j'y_suis programme on the subject of pensions
(23/06/2010)
Interview on France Inter's Là-bas_si_j'y_suis programme on the subject of wages
(02/04/2012) {{DEFAULTSORT:Friot, Bernard French sociologists French Communist Party members Living people 1946 births French male writers