Final answer:
The statement that Linus's takes a neo-marxist perspective on the informal economy is false. Marx and Engels analyzed labor and capital but did not directly discuss the informal economy. Neo-Marxism adapts Marxist ideas to contemporary issues, but it should be distinguished from Marx's original analysis.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement "Linus's takes a neo-marxist perspective to explain why people work in the informal economy" is false. Neo-Marxism is a branch of Marxism that adapts the ideas of Karl Marx to other theories such as psychoanalysis or existentialism. Marx and Engels themselves did not specifically discuss the informal economy as we understand it today; however, they did analyze the dynamics of labor and capital within capitalist societies.
In a Marxist view, the tendency to reduce labor costs and increase competition leads to unemployment and the impoverishment of the mass of society. The informal economy, which may include jobs like nannies, gardeners, and street vendors, arises as a response to unemployment and the need for survival in the absence of adequate formal employment opportunities. Workers in the informal economy engage in such labor to secure income for the necessities of life in situations where the formal economy fails to provide sufficient opportunities.
Comparatively, neo-Marxist perspectives might focus on aspects such as the role of the state in perpetuating economic inequalities or the intersections of race, class, and gender in understanding the nature of work in the informal economy. Nevertheless, it is essential to distinguish Marx's original analysis of capitalism from neo-Marxist theories that have expanded and adapted his ideas to contemporary social and economic issues.