Return of Work in Critical Theory

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.

• ContentsPreface and AcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I: Worries About Work1. Unemployment and Precarious Work2. Work-Life Imbalance, Disrespect at Work, and Meaningless WorkPart II: The Subject at Work3. The Technical Dimension4. Dynamics of RecognitionPart III: A Critical Conception of Work5. Justice and Autonomy as Norms of Work6. Two Models of CritiquePart IV: Performance Evaluation7. Managerialism Versus Cooperative Management8. From Theory to Practice: Intervention in an EnterpriseConclusionNotesIndex

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.