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Dieter Sauer
The Future of Work-driven Society
Keywords: Das Ende des Fordismus, Radikale Vermarktlichung, Arbeitsgesellschaft im Übergang
Hannah Arendt′s thesis about a “society of laborers without labor” formulated fifty years ago seems more up to date than ever. Her afterthought “nothing could be worse” also seems to be coming true. At a time when it seems realistic for Western industrialised countries that less and less time will have to be spent working for a living with simultaneously rising commodity supply, this partial freedom of gainful occupation is increasingly becoming a problem for those dismissed. And those who still have work are confronted with the paradoxical demand that they have to work more instead of less – and also longer and more intensively. In view of rising labour participation however, the end of work-driven society in the sense of a decreasing importance of gainful employment is currently not in sight. The predominant parole “as long as you have a job” indicates a massive crisis of this work-driven society. The question as to the reasons, the quality and the possible consequences of this crisis is at the centre of this article. In this context, a radical change in society is also diagnosed, which however does not signal the end of work-driven society in general. Rather, work itself will change fundamentally.
Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte, Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag
Print ISSN: 0042-5702
Volume: 55, 02/2007
Pages: 309 - 328