The Problem with Work: Feminism, Marxism, Antiwork Politics, and Postwork Imaginaries (a John Hope Franklin Center Book)

In __The Problem with Work__, Kathi Weeks boldly challenges the presupposition that work, or waged labor, is inherently a social and political good. While progressive political movements, including the Marxist and feminist movements, have fought for equal pay, better work conditions, and the recognition of unpaid work as a valued form of labor, even they have tended to accept work as a naturalized or inevitable activity. Weeks argues that in taking work as a given, we have “depoliticized” it, or removed it from the realm of political critique. Employment is now largely privatized, and work-based activism in the United States has atrophied. We have accepted waged work as the primary mechanism for income distribution, as an ethical obligation, and as a means of defining ourselves and others as social and political subjects. Taking up Marxist and feminist critiques, Weeks proposes a postwork society that would allow people to be productive and creative rather than relentlessly bound to the employment relation. Work, she contends, is a legitimate, even crucial, subject for political theory. In The Problem with Work, Kathi Weeks boldly challenges the presupposition that work, or waged labor, is inherently a social and political good. While progressive political movements, including the Marxist and feminist movements, have fought for equal pay, better work conditions, and the recognition of unpaid work as a valued form of labor, even they have tended to accept work as a naturalized or inevitable activity. Weeks argues that in taking work as a given, we have "depoliticized" it, or removed it from the realm of political critique. Employment is now largely privatized, and work-based activism in the United States has atrophied. We have accepted waged work as the primary mechanism for income distribution, as an ethical obligation, and as a means of defining ourselves and others as social and political subjects. Taking up Marxist and feminist critiques, Weeks proposes a postwork society that would allow people to be productive and creative rather than relentlessly bound to the employment relation. Work, she contends, is a legitimate, even crucial, subject for political theory.--Provided by publisher In The Problem with Work, Kathi Weeks boldly challenges the presupposition that work, or waged labor, is inherently a social and political good. While progressive political movements, including the Marxist and feminist movements, have fought for equal pay, better work conditions, and the recognition of unpaid work as a valued form of labor, even they have tended to accept work as a naturalized or inevitable activity. Weeks argues that in taking work as a given, we have "depoliticized" it, or removed it from the realm of political critique. Employment is now largely privatized, and work-based activism in the United States has atrophied. We have accepted waged work as the primary mechanism for income distribution, as an ethical obligation, and as a means of defining ourselves and others as social and political subjects. Taking up Marxist and feminist critiques, Weeks proposes a postwork society that would allow people to be productive and creative rather than relentlessly bound to the employment relation. Work, she contends, is a legitimate, even crucial, subject for political theory. --- Book Description La autora cuestiona la supuesta idea del trabajo remunerado como bien social y político. Movimientos políticos progresistas, como el marxismo o el feminismo, han luchado por la igualdad de salarios, por la mejora de las condiciones laborales y por el reconocimiento del trabajo no remunerado como una forma de empleo, pero tienden a aceptar el trabajo como una actividad natural o inevitable. Weeks sostiene que esta idea supone despolitizar el trabajo y apartarlo del ámbito de la crítica política. En Estados Unidos, el empleo está ampliamente privatizado y apenas existe activismo en el trabajo. Hemos aceptado el trabajo remunerado como mecanismo primario para la distribución de la renta como una obligación ética, y como algo que nos define a nosotros mismos y a los otros como sujetos sociales y políticos. Partiendo de la crítica marxista y feminista, Weeks propone una sociedad poslaboral, que permita a la gente ser productiva y creativa, no implacablemente lligada a la relación con el empleo. El trabajo, defiende, es un sujeto legítimo, incluso crucial, de la teoría política Contents Acknowledgments Introduction: The Problem with Work Chapter 1: Mapping the Work Ethic Chapter 2: Marxism, Productivism, and the Refusal of Work Chapter 3: Working Demands: From Wages for Housework to Basic Income Chapter 4: ‘‘Hours for What We Will’’: Work, Family, and the Demand for Shorter Hours Chapter 5: The Future Is Now: Utopian Demands and the Temporalities of Hope Epilogue: A Life beyond Work Notes References Index Mapping The Work Ethic -- Marxism, Productivism, And The Refusal Of Work -- Working Demands : From Wages For Housework To Basic Income -- Hours For What We Will: Work, Family, And The Demand For Shorter Hours -- The Future Is Now: Utopian Demands And The Temporalities -- Of Hope -- Epilogue: A Life Beyond Work. Kathi Weeks. A John Hope Franklin Center Book. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [235]-273) And Index. The Problem with Work develops a Marxist feminist critique of the structures and ethics of work, as well as a perspective for imagining a life no longer subordinated to them.