ABSTRACT

Bringing together leading international scholars within the fields of social and political theory and philosophy, this book explores how we should understand work and its role(s) in our lives and wider society.

What challenges are posed by work in our changing economy and the new economic forms that are beginning to emerge, and how can we best address these challenges? In what ways do patterns of working, as well as work technologies, shape people’s lives within and outside work, in particular their life opportunities and their social and natural environment? How might we organize—or seek to reorganize—workplaces so that the experience of work better reflects our shared ethical ideals and normative principles? This volume examines these vital questions in a comprehensive and systematic manner in order to provide much needed theoretical insight and practical guidance in reflecting on the nature, problems, and possibilities of work currently.

This book will be of interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students and established academics in the areas of contemporary political theory and philosophy, social theory, legal philosophy, labour studies, the sociology of work, practical ethics, critical theory, and political activism.

chapter 6|15 pages

Contesting the work-spend cycle

The liberal egalitarian case against consumerism

chapter 7|15 pages

No masters above

Testing five arguments for self-employment

chapter 9|14 pages

Marginal liberalism

chapter 11|16 pages

Democratizing workplaces from below

Beyond workplace republicanism

chapter 12|17 pages

A just transition to a sustainable economy

Green political economy, labour republicanism, and the liberation from economic growth

chapter 13|13 pages

Democratic work

Grounds, models, and implications

chapter 14|15 pages

Proletarian democracy

What can we learn from the Soviet experience?

chapter 15|15 pages

Open borders and (post-)work