Work

Redistributive Solidarity? Exploring the Utopian Potential of Unconditional Basic Income

“…from their identities as workers), we should expect new forms of work and organization to emerge. At least, if the combination of degrowth principles and UBI practices involves some degree of freedom from wage work, it seems fair to assume the emergence of another kind of labor that is stripped of ‘gloom and compulsion’, a type of work that serves as an ‘instrument of joy, of strength, of color, of real harmony’ (Goldman, 1911, quoted in Chertkovskaya and Stoborod, 2018: 194). As researchers, we can support this development by cultivating social theories that do not rely on unsustainable premises of economic growth and outdated work ethics.…”

Countering corporate violence: Degrowth, ecosocialism and organising beyond the destructive forces of capitalism

“…Even with health and safety regulations in place, seemingly decent working conditions, higher salaries and shorter working hours, work remains alienating, involves deskilling and lacks meaning for the majority of people (Chertkovskaya and Stoborod, 2018). However, corporate culture and corporate social responsibility rhetoric can obscure corporate violence and alienation associated with work.…”

“…The latter refers to organising work differently itself, putting worker control and transformation from treadmill metabolism to regenerative production at the heart of it. This could be done, for example, via non-hierarchical ways of organising work and via a more equal societal division of work, where everyone contributes to work that is less pleasant but has to be done and also has spaces to engage in work that is more creative and gratifying (Chertkovskaya and Stoborod, 2018). Reduction of working time is often seen as a concrete measure that would help to transform work, releasing the time from work that is alienating and creating time for social reproduction and liberated work (Leonardi, 2019b).…”