Freedom through Work: The Psychosocial, Affect and Work

Abstract

While recognizing the value of productive work, some social theorists call for the end of wage-based work because of its exploitative nature (e.g., Gorz, 1999). In parallel with such arguments, this chapter suggests that it is not work itself that needs to be eliminated but the way in which it is organized and the conditions in which it is conducted. Elaborating on the relationship between work and affect, the chapter shows how work can, in fact, be a route to freedom. It contributes by recasting both freedom and work as psychosocial processes and thereby demonstrating the empowering and transformative potentials of work.