Creative Destruction in the Afterlife of Slavery: A Comment on Revaluing Work(ers): Toward a Democratic and Sustainable Future

Abstract

In this review of Revaluing Work(res), I argue that the labor studies approach must move forward in two directions. First, it must anchor the conversation on the future of work in the concept of “creative destruction” and in doing so advocate a socialist alternative to organizing production. Second, it must highlight the specific legacy of Black labor in the afterlife of slavery in the forms of labor control that characterize new forms of work.