The cult of the entrepreneur within the EU framework: The advance of an entrepreneurship activation model

Abstract

This paper approaches the concept of 'activation' by looking at the notion of what an entrepreneur is. At present, the entrepreneur is Neo-Liberalism's Poster Child and is enshrined in EU-2020 programmes. It should be noted that the diffusion of entrepreneurship is taking place against the background of two great changes in the social and employment fields. The first is the progressive corporatisation of wage labour, with a drive towards individualisation and taking responsibility - mainly in qualified jobs. The second is the blurring of boundaries in salaried work due to the proliferation of new kinds of self-employment. Salaried work, especially for highly-skilled staff, is being re-cast in an entrepreneurial mould. This redefinition is forging new practices and archetypes that will transform the world of work. This paper therefore makes a deeper analysis of labour activation processes in the EU-2020 strategy through the idea of the entrepreneur.