“Nothing but Joy”: The Welfare Rights Movement’s Antiwork Freedom Dream

Abstract

Based on the welfare rights movement’s archival record, this article depicts welfare activists as inventive public intellectuals who developed bold and sophisticated antiwork “freedom dreams.” Informed by both their experiences in the low wage labor force, as well as the historic lineage of chattel slavery, welfare rights movement participants challenged the widespread assumption that improving wage work can remedy poverty, and argued against ideological adherence to the work ethic. As perhaps the largest, most visible antiwork social movement to date, the welfare rights movement holds crucial importance in deepening our empirical understanding of antiwork politics, the pursuit of income decoupled from work, and the motivation of its advocates. Additionally, this analysis situates antiwork politics as an overlooked component of the rich and variegated legacy of the Black radical tradition.