Generation, Discourse, and Social Change by Karen R. Foster

Author:Karen R. Foster [Foster, Karen R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Sociology, General, Psychology, Social Psychology, Political Science, Public Policy, Cultural Policy
ISBN: 9781136662379
Google: Pp25pPZw5fQC
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2013-02-15T05:45:59+00:00

DISAFFECTION

The narrative of disaffection involves several prominent themes: first, a strong emphasis on the negotiation of a work–life balance; second, scepticism about the ‘point’—the economic, spiritual or social rewards—of a life dominated by paid work (as it is organized in the Western post-industrial, advanced capitalist system); third, in some cases, a sincere wish for paid work one is “passionate” about and, in others, a wish simply for work that enabled the pursuit of passions outside paid employment; fourth, the refusal to be ambivalent about work; and, finally, a critique of the perceived “normal” or “conventional” way of relating to work.

The term “disaffection” encompasses all of these (at times conflicting) facets, at least in the sense in which I use it here, which comes from the writings of Andre Gorz. In a summary of his Critique of Economic Reason, he wrote:

Disaffection with waged work has been on the increase over the last twenty years or so [ … ] Particularly prevalent among young workers, this attitude finds expression not so much in a lack of interest or a refusal to work hard but rather in a desire that work should fit into life instead of life having to fit into or be sacrificed to one’s job or career. Workers, particularly young workers, aspire to (re)gain control of their lives and this increases their awareness of and openness to movements which have this specific aim.

This desire to liberate oneself from, or vis-à-vis, work should not be seen as opposed to the traditional union objectives of achieving liberation in work. On the contrary, past experience has shown that workers become more demanding with regard to their working conditions and work relations when their work leaves them time and energy to have a personal life.20

The stories in this section support and flesh out further the idea of disaffection Gorz sets out in the preceding. They shed light on what disaffection looks like, in a life story, and how it compares to the faithful and ambivalent relationships already explored. They illustrate that disaffection is a feeling and a way of relating to paid work, but it rests on a specific alignment of discourse around work, employment, income and humanity.

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