The Return of Work in Critical Theory

Christophe Dejours; Jean-Philippe Deranty; Emmanuel Renault; Nicholas H. Smith

Christophe Dejours, Jean-Philippe Deranty, Emmanuel Renault and Nicholas H. Smith

The Return of Work in Critical Theory

Self, Society, Politics

In: New Directions in Critical Theory, 56

Columbia University Press | 2018

https://doi.org/10.7312/dejo18728

Overview
Contents

About this book

This book presents a new account of the significance and the human costs of work. A collaboration between experts in philosophy, social theory, and clinical psychology, it brings together empirical research with incisive analysis of work’s political stakes to present a diagnosis of the pathologies of contemporary work and propose powerful remedies.

Author information

Dejours Christophe :

Christophe Dejours (MD, Paris V-Sorbonne) is Chair and Professor of Psychoanalysis, Health, and Work at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers. He is the author of many books on psychoanalysis, psychosomatics, pathologies of modern work, and the social impact of work, including Travail: Usure Mentale (Bayard, 2015), (with Isabelle Gernet) Psychopathologie du Travail (Elsevier, 2016), and Travail Vivant (Payot, 2013). He is founding editor of the journal Travailler: Revue internationale de Psychopathologie et de Psychodynamique du Travail.Deranty Jean-Philippe :

Jean-Philippe Deranty (PhD, Philosophy, Paris IV-Sorbonne) is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Macquarie University. He is the author and editor of numerous books, including Beyond Communication. A Critical Study of Axel Honneth's Social Philosophy (Brill, 2009) and (co-edited with Katia Genel) Recognition versus Disagreement: A Critical Encounter on the Politics of Freedom, Equality and Identity (Columbia, 2016). He has guest-edited a special issue of the journal Travailler (2013) on philosophy and work and is chief editor of the journal Critical Horizons: A Journal of Philosophy and Social Theory.Renault Emmanuel :

Emmanuel Renault (PhD, Philosophy, Burgundy) is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Paris X (Nanterre). He is the author of L’Expérience de l’Injustice: Reconnaissance et Clinique de l’Injustice (La Découverte, 2004, English translation under contract at Columbia), Souffrance Sociales: Sociologie, Psychologie et Politique (La Découverte, 2008), and (with Gerard Dumenil and Michael Lowy) Lire Marx (PUF, 2014), among other titles.Smith Nicholas H. :

Nicholas H. Smith (PhD, Philosophy, Glasgow) is Professor of Philosophy at Macquarie University. He is the author and editor of a number of books, including Charles Taylor: Meaning, Morals and Modernity (Polity, 2002) and (co-edited with Jean-Philippe Deranty) New Philosophies of Labour: Work and the Social Bond (Brill, 2012). He has also guest-edited special issues of the journals Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie (2012) and Revue Internationale de Philosophie (2016) on the theme of philosophy and work.Christophe Dejours is professor of psychoanalysis, health, and work at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers. His many books include Souffrance en France. La banalisation de l’injustice sociale, 7th ed. (2007) and Travail Vivant, 2 vols. (2009).

Jean-Philippe Deranty is associate professor of philosophy at Macquarie University. He is the author of Beyond Communication: A Critical Study of Axel Honneth’s Social Philosophy (2009) and the editor of several collections on critical theory and work.

Emmanuel Renault is professor of philosophy at University of Paris-Nanterre. He has published several books on the tradition of critical theory, including Social Suffering: Sociology, Psychology, Politics (2017).

Nicholas H. Smith is professor of philosophy at Macquarie University. He is the author of Strong Hermeneutics (1997) and Charles Taylor (2002) and has edited several collections on the philosophy of work.

Reviews

Titus Stahl, University of Groningen:
There is little engagement in contemporary critical theory with the issue of work in general, and with the project of a normative theory in which work is central, in particular. The discussion in The Return of Work in Critical Theory is urgently needed for critical theory to become capable to react to the normative struggles around work which many diagnose in contemporary societies.

Andrea Veltman, author of Meaningful Work:
The Return of Work in Critical Theory shows that work has a significant impact in people’s lives, for it provides not merely a paycheck but also a number of psychological and moral goods. Good work contributes substantially to positive mental health, and stressful work can contribute substantially to psychological suffering. In addition to highlighting legitimate worries about unemployment, underemployment, and precarious work, the authors examine normative expectations concerning justice and autonomy in work and sketch possibilities for transforming working life into a healthier, more cooperative, and more democratic enterprise.

Ruth Yeoman, author of Meaningful Work and Workplace Democracy: A Philosophy of Work and a Politics of Meaningfulness:
With succinct clarity, this book makes a fresh and original case for a critical inquiry into the nature of work—what it means, why it matters, and the impact it has upon our lives. Drawing on the psychodynamics of work and recognition theory, the authors provide a robust account of the experience of working which is both compelling and persuasive. Of particular value is the translation of theory into practice via a striking case study examining work organization and mental health.

Isabelle Ferreras, author of Firms as Political Entities: Saving Democracy Through Economic Bicameralism:
This is a unique book jointly written by an interdisciplinary group of four international scholars. Making the most of decades of research that speak for the long-forgotten centrality of work in the everyday production of subjectivity, it is a crucial contribution to the critical theory of the twenty-first century. If you wonder why capitalism has not managed to make people 'happy' in the workplace, or why the most successful managers today argue that firms need to put 'people first,' this book leads you to the root cause. People at work have high expectations with regard to their own conceptions of justice and autonomy, and the current model of capitalist management cannot do with their critique of work. At a turning point in history, this book presses us to see that without addressing the critique of work formulated by workers themselves, firms will lack the cooperation they so desperately seek, and democracy as we know it, segregated from the economy, simply cannot be a viable project.

Joel Anderson, Utrecht University:
This groundbreaking book restores something often missing in critical social theories of labor: the embodied and affective dimensions of the lived experience of working. In articulating this interdisciplinary perspective, the authors show that addressing the forms of injustice and harm to which workers are subjected demands more than improved labor market choices; it requires that we ensure the social and physical conditions for genuinely meaningful work experiences. Urgently needed and highly recommended.

Frontmatter Free access PDF PDF	i
Contents Free access PDF PDF	v
PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	vii
Introduction Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	1
PART I: Worries About Work
Chapter One. Unemployment and Precarious Work Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	23
Chapter Two. Work-Life Imbalance, Disrespect at Work, and Meaningless Work Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	42
PART II: The Subject at Work
Chapter Three. The Technical Dimension Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	69
Chapter Four. Dynamics of Recognition Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	93
PART III: A Critical Conception of Work
Chapter Five. Justice and Autonomy as Norms of Work Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	113
Chapter Six. Two Models of Critique Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	130
PART IV: Performance Evaluation
Chapter Seven. Managerialism Versus Cooperative Management Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	153
Chapter Eight. From Theory to Practice: Intervention in an Enterprise Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	174
Conclusion Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	195
NOTES Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	205
INDEX Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	223

The Return of Work in Critical Theory

Self, Society, Politics

Details

Formats