Antiwork

Antiwork is a moral alternative to the obsession with “jobs” that has plagued our society for too long. It’s a project to radically reframe work and leisure. It’s also a cognitive antidote to the pernicious culture of “hard work”, which has taken over our minds as well as our precious time.Big shifts have occurred this year.

While politicians preached about “hardworking families”, [citizen’s] income went viral and was adopted as long-term policy by the Green Party. Social media campaigns, meanwhile, made it increasingly difficult for companies and charities to benefit from the forced labour schemes known to most as “workfare”.

Here a top-notch essay from New Escapologist ally Brian Dean on the curse of work and the liberties of what he calls antiwork. Nice cameos from Bertrand Russell, David Graeber and Bob Black too.

Laid on top of [the] work/leisure neurosis is consumerism – the idea that spending money will make you happy. This is like toffee coating on a bad Puritan apple. If you spend enough money to give you the (advertised) conditions for happiness, the neurosis emerges in the form of random worries or vague, guilty feelings about not working hard enough. This, along with the work as obedience frame, may explain why we’re contributing £29bn worth of free labour (in unpaid overtime) to British employers each year.

★ Tired of the everyday grind? Pre-order the New Escapologist book today.