The refusal of work
Subtitle: the theory and practice of resistance to work
By: David Frayne
Publisher: Zed Books
Published: 2015
Language: eng
Number of pages: 270
ISBN-13: 9781783601189; 9781783601172
Subjects: Moral and ethical aspects; Work; Social justice; Employee rights; Work-life balance
Description: "Paid work is absolutely central to the culture and politics of capitalist societies, yet today's work centered world is becoming increasingly hostile to the human need for autonomy, spontaneity and community. The grim reality of a society in which some are overworked, whilst others are condemned to intermittent work and unemployment, is progressively more difficult to tolerate. In this thought provoking book, David Frayne questions the central place of work in mainstream political visions of the future, laying bare the ways in which economic demands colonise our lives and priorities. Drawing on his original research into the lives of people who are actively resisting nine-to-five employment, Frayne asks what motivates these people to disconnect from work, whether or not their resistance is futile, and whether they might have the capaciity to inspire an alternative form of development, based on a reduction and social redistribution of work. A crucial dissection of the work-centred nature of modern society and emerging resistance to it, 'The Refusal of Work' is a bold call for a more humane and sustainable vision of social progress"--Page four of cover.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages [247]-258) and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction : the work dogma; title: A provocation; title: Working pains; title: The colonising power of work; title: The stronghold of work; title: The breaking point; title: Alternative pleasures; title: Half a person; title: From escapism to autonomy.