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Accepted Paper:
Long Haul-Trucking and the Powers that Be
Christian Henrik Alexander Kuran
(University of Stavanger)
This paper explores European truckers considerations of their place in the economy, their responsibilities and abilities to negotiate with or resist the forces of deregulation, fast technological change and public opinion that change, criticize and inform the role and status as truckers.
Paper long abstract:
Long-haul trucking is an essential component of the international capitalist economy, ensuring the transport of wares and goods. The sector is also fraught with controversial issues such as road- and traffic safety to smuggling and social dumping. Integral to these issues are The Long-Haul truckers themselves, often described in the court of public opinion as roadside cowboys and irresponsible actors, that are insufficiently regulated and controlled on one hand, and on the other as the initial essential workers in the progress of a modern Europe.
Based on fieldwork among European truckers this paper explores the lifeworld’s of the long-haul lifestyle as the truckers consider their places in the economy, their responsibilities as workers for both the safety of their cargo, but also the safety of the wider public. Further exploring their abilities to negotiate with or resist the forces of deregulation, fast technological change and public opinion that change, criticize and inform the role and status of the long-haul trucker as employee, icon, worker and moral people.