Invention, centralité et fin du travail

Work is not only a historically dated word or notion, but also an invented reality, constructed by the European 18th century. It corresponds to the emergence of the labour relationship and the ‘free’ worker selling his or her capability to work. Through its spread and progressive hegemony, this soci...

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Main Author: Michel Freyssenet †
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Association Recherche & Régulation 2020-06-01
Series:Revue de la Régulation
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/regulation/16857
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author Michel Freyssenet †
author_facet Michel Freyssenet †
author_sort Michel Freyssenet †
collection DOAJ
description Work is not only a historically dated word or notion, but also an invented reality, constructed by the European 18th century. It corresponds to the emergence of the labour relationship and the ‘free’ worker selling his or her capability to work. Through its spread and progressive hegemony, this social relationship has become the reference to perceive, think and organize any other activity. The consequence has been an extension of the term ‘work’ to activities which no longer stem from the labour relationship, such as ‘domestic work’, ‘independent work’ and so on. Work has been ‘naturalized’ and ‘universalized’. This contemporary reality —originally geographically circumscribed— has been projected on the past and on other societies. We need to explain it through historical conditions that caused it to emerge three centuries ago. Nor has it been socially intrinsic from the outset, as it has become today by being the condition of access to resources necessary for life in our societies. If its historicity logically implies its disappearance one day, it cannot reasonably be prognosticated for the near future, as it supposes the marginalization of the social relationship which brought it forth.
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spelling doaj-art-03090fc965b8433199ebbcabd36f6a152025-01-30T14:27:30ZengAssociation Recherche & RégulationRevue de la Régulation1957-77962020-06-012710.4000/regulation.16857Invention, centralité et fin du travailMichel Freyssenet †Work is not only a historically dated word or notion, but also an invented reality, constructed by the European 18th century. It corresponds to the emergence of the labour relationship and the ‘free’ worker selling his or her capability to work. Through its spread and progressive hegemony, this social relationship has become the reference to perceive, think and organize any other activity. The consequence has been an extension of the term ‘work’ to activities which no longer stem from the labour relationship, such as ‘domestic work’, ‘independent work’ and so on. Work has been ‘naturalized’ and ‘universalized’. This contemporary reality —originally geographically circumscribed— has been projected on the past and on other societies. We need to explain it through historical conditions that caused it to emerge three centuries ago. Nor has it been socially intrinsic from the outset, as it has become today by being the condition of access to resources necessary for life in our societies. If its historicity logically implies its disappearance one day, it cannot reasonably be prognosticated for the near future, as it supposes the marginalization of the social relationship which brought it forth.https://journals.openedition.org/regulation/16857social relationshipinvention of worklabour relationship
spellingShingle Michel Freyssenet †
Invention, centralité et fin du travail
Revue de la Régulation
social relationship
invention of work
labour relationship
title Invention, centralité et fin du travail
title_full Invention, centralité et fin du travail
title_fullStr Invention, centralité et fin du travail
title_full_unstemmed Invention, centralité et fin du travail
title_short Invention, centralité et fin du travail
title_sort invention centralite et fin du travail
topic social relationship
invention of work
labour relationship
url https://journals.openedition.org/regulation/16857
work_keys_str_mv AT michelfreyssenet inventioncentraliteetfindutravail