ABSTRACT
Anti-work thinkers routinely posit a superior future: one with no work, or much less work, or work that is always pleasant, or where at least the undesirable qualities of work are greatly ameliorated. A future like this, where workers were much freer, was part of the communist vision. The failure of such a future to materialize dealt a blow to those who anticipated realization rather than failure, but neo-Marxists have distanced themselves from such an ineluctable realization. Instead, the workers’ utopia exists as a kind of horizon, which while perhaps unrealizable is nonetheless useful as a coordinator of action and attitude. This chapter discusses this movement from a promised and certain horizon to a more doubtful one. Some resurgence of hope, though, may be perceived in those who suggest that technology may finally lead to not just freedom from labor, but a luxurious life.
