Against work: a utopian incursion into social policy

Abstract

This paper argues in favour of using a utopian method of thinking about the future, rather than simply extrapolating from present conditions. This opens up the possibility of thinking in terms of the kind of society we want to achieve, rather than what seems immediately probable. It criticises the Blair Government's focus on the economic and moral centrality of paid work, and argues, following Gorz, that the link between ‘work’ and income needs to be broken to ensure an adequate livelihood for all. This will entail a re-valuing of forms of human activity, as argued by Herbert Marcuse, and more recently by Fiona Williams. This ultimately calls in question the structures of capitalism itself, since what is entailed is, at the very least, a step change downwards in the proportion of the social product accruing to capital. The paper concludes by contending that any genuinely critical social policy must have this utopian dimension.