The Socialist Work Ethic

On shared-labour socialism.

Political theorist Alex Gourevitch talks to us about his critique of post-work thought, and how it presupposes the very labour it seeks to free us from. We start of by distinguishing post-work socialism (e.g. Fully Automated Luxury Communism) from various propositions for a Universal Basic Income, and discuss why these ideas are popular today.

We then dedicate much of the time to debating Gourevitch's alternative proposal for "shared-labour socialism". What counts as necessary labour – and who is going to do it? How has globalisation changed people's perspectives on what necessary labour is? And will we be producing more under socialism?

Part 2 is here: patreon.com/posts/73765804 

Readings:

• Post-Work Socialism?, Alex Gourevitch, Catalyst
• Why your flights keep getting cancelled, Daniel Zamora Vargas, New Statesman

Listenings: 

• /149/ It’s Not Robots, It’s Capitalism ft. Aaron Benanav / Liz Pancotti
• /72/ Frankly Awesome Lefty Conversation ft. Aaron Bastani
• /88/ Vouchers for Toxicity ft. Anton Jäger