Rethinking Work: New ways to work in an information society

The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to what I believe to be a potentially promising track of inquiry and action in the face of the perplexing jobs/work/society conundrum which is being so unsuccessfully joined in most places to date. Given the enormous stakes and the failure of policy makers to engineer any major inroads in the problems thus far, it is clearly important for all concerned to be in a position to consider the full range of available knowledge concerning the changing nature of work in the closing years of the 20th century, including less familiar and less conventional concepts. Unfortunately most of the information available until now that might help us move away from the obviously unsuccessful policies of the past based on the received wisdom, has in the main emphasised criticism of the existing arrangements, rather than providing positive counsel which might help us better understand what to do next. This profound economic process has not been analyzed and intellectually digested, as Marx set out to do for his time. Mr. Drucker says we do not yet understand how knowledge works as a resource. "We need a theory," he says. Most urgently, we need a theory that redefines labor and how to set its value. The difference between work and play is now essentially defined by money, whether you are paid for what you do or pay for doing it. ... Industrial society has made labor a crucial element of identity. You are what you work at. That is why being un-employed is such a blow, even if the safety net is adequate. Being without a job is being made to feel a nobody. But at least in the transition phase of this new industrial revolution, there are not going to be enough jobs for all. ... So a new analysis, a new theory, a new understanding of the role of labor is required. Let us hope that when the new Marx appears he will not be so arrogant, so fertile in spawning error and terror as was the old. Still, we do need one. - Flora Lewis, International Herald Tribune, Paris, 18 May 1993 Against this backdrop, my goal in these pages is to make a provocative and reasonably convincing first statement of an alternative way of thinking about these issues which I believe merits closer attention by those responsible for making and influencing policy. As hopefully will become quickly clear, this is not intended as yet one more "expert report". The intention is to put before the reader a lively document which pulls together many disparate strands from the critical literature and thinking, and which is interesting and provocative enough to stimulate further discussion and exchanges of these ideas and perspectives. This introductory statement assumes that the reader has full access to the abundant national and interna-tional statistics and other indicators which, warts and all, provide the vital backdrop to these considera-tions and judgements, many of which are highly qualitative in nature. If the document succeeds, it will be because it manages to make a case for giving more attention than we have till now to new, more heav-ily innovative and potentially more far-reaching approaches. If on the other hand you come away from this reading with the impression that the existing arsenal of tools and measure is likely to do the job, then I will have failed in what I set out to accomplish. In the end, the job crisis raises the most fundamental question of human existence: What are we doing here? There is a colossal amount of work waiting to be done by human beings - building decent places to live, exploring the universe, making cities less dan-gerous, teaching one another, raising our children, visiting, comforting, healing, feeding one another, telling stories, inventing things, and governing our-selves. But much of the essential activity people have always undertaken to raise and educate their families, to enjoy themselves, to give pleasure to oth-ers, and to advance the general welfare is not pack-aged as jobs. Until we rethink work and decide what human beings are meant to do in the age of robots and what basic economic claims on society human beings have by virtue of being here, there will never be enough jobs. . - Richard J. Barnet, The End of Jobs, Harper's Magazine, March 1993 This piece is called a thinking exercise, as opposed to the more familiar article or book. Certainly it takes printed form in this instance, but it differs from the usual approach to the extent that it is seen as part of an on-going process that has several rather interesting aspects, as will be seen in the pages that follow. This paper is presented at this point as the work of an individual author, a private citizen and long time observer of these issues who is responsible for all these words and thoughts, for better and for worse. (Thus, when you have a grievance or disagreement-or possibly some encouragement or ideas about how to do better-you the reader will know exactly where to turn.) Since it is my intention to evoke response and reactions, the whole thing is set out in an informal and quite personal style. The idea was to get away from the numbing prose of most official documents which, while it may accomplish some ends, rarely engages the entire brain and interest of the reader. In places the following is thus purposely quite pugnacious, in others perhaps a bit zany But I believe that on the whole it does not lack ideas and that it does set the challenge. We will now see if this has been done well enough to evoke the response that is to be hoped for. The author stakes no claim to original thought on any of the many varied subjects set out here. I didn't think it to be necessary since there is no paucity of good ideas. The main challenge before us, as I see it, is that of sorting out all these ideas, insights and recommendations, and then lining up the best of them in a way so that they make sense and can somehow be implemented -- or at the very least not prevented from taking place on their own. As far as original ideas are concerned, I have followed the prescription of Stravinsky who, when asked if he ever borrowed themes or musical ideas from other composers, replied that he certainly did not-that he stole them! So, if you spot any really good ideas in the following pages, you can be sure that they were stolen from someone else. But then again, is not this the way we really fashion all knowledge and pro-gress? I would like to thank my colleagues at the Commission who have not only taken the risk to support such a free-wheeling project as this, but also have proven a source of ideas and useful criticism over these months of hard work. The contributions and support of those who attended the roundtables, sent papers and comments, and generally energized and inspired us have been enormous. I also must mention if not the names at least the fact that several dozen people have kindly taken the time to communicate their re-actions and critical comments -- and in almost all cases their not-inconsiderable enthusiasm -- for the ideas set out here. Their encouragement is deeply appreciated; to them all I am profoundly grateful. *This is however by no means the end of this process. The present version (the second to date) is now being widely shared through electronic and other means, a technique of intellectual interaction which has already shown enormous usefulness. I also look forward with great interest to the reactions of those who will be attending the Berlin Assembly on New Ways to Work, to whom copies are being made available. It is anticipated that later versions will not only contain a considerable number of changes and rectifications, but it is even to be hoped that there may be additional ideas and content that will make it into a more provocative, useful and-in the final analysis what really counts-effective document. I realize that this approach places considerable demands on the reader-both intellectual and other-but I rather think that the effort will prove worthwhile. There is some very good stuff here. Your patience should be amply rewarded. In the meantime, I must personally assume responsibility for all interpreta-tions and representations, knowing that there are omissions and errors, but hoping that the sheer interest of this hastily produced second version will justify these shortcomings. F.E.K. Britton, EcoPlan, Paris Go next to Tour Stop 3 ->    Home   About Direct Access   Message Center Latest News   Contact   Top Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara 75006 Paris, France, Europe. T: +331 4326 1323 Copyright © 1994-2005 The Commons ® All rights reserved. Last updated on 10 October 2005