Post-work society as an oxymoron. Why we cannot and should not wish work away (original) (raw)

In recent years, theorists have contended that we should move to a mode of social organisation where work and the values attached to it are no longer central, a "post-work society". For these theorists, the modern ideology of work is intrinsically unjust, even irrational, and no longer suited to the challenges of our time. The article presents an alternative response to the problems of work and employment. Rather than moving to a "post-work" society, the article argues that we should transform the world of work, precisely by keeping in view why working is important to individuals and the community. In fact, it is not realistic to believe that human societies could ever do without work. Because human societies are by necessity work societies, and work, if organized correctly, entails many goods, we cannot really, and we should not, wish work away. Keywords: Post-work society. Goods of work. Meaningful work. Marx. Dejours The world of work today is rife with problems, including the threats to many jobs from automation, rising levels of working poverty, increasingly precarious employment conditions, new forms of control and surveillance, the invasion of private life by work demands, and a heightened sense of meaninglessness in professional life. For a number of social and political theorists, these issues demonstrate that the modern work ethic has become obsolete and that it is time to move to a different, "post-work" model of social organisation, one where work is no longer central. This article presents an alternative response to the worrying situation of work and employment. Rather than moving to a "post-work" society, the article argues that we should instead reform the world of work, precisely by keeping in view why working is important to individuals and the community. We might want to reject the current work ethic, but still hold on to some "ethic of work", that is, continue to believe in and seek to realise the goods that work can bring. This argument is based on the premise that it is in fact not realistic to believe that human societies could ever do without work. Because human societies are by necessity work societies, and work, if organized correctly, entails many goods, we cannot really, and we should not, wish work away.