Research shows that work shapes not only material life but also identity and community. If AI erases work as we know it, it could also erase the foundations of mass politics.
The US economy is facing a downturn characterized by higher prices, lower jobs numbers, and slower economic growth as the consequences of Donald Trump’s global trade war set in. While Trump’s policies break with the neoliberal order and move in the direction of a de facto American mercantilism, his ability to force foreign states to bow to the trade demands of Yankee hegemony are offset by domestic economic troubles and a public exhausted after years of affordability crises and decades of structural inequality. These problems have and will generate plenty of headlines. But there are deeper, long-term threats to contend with.
Economic downturns typically mean job losses and higher unemployment, as current job seekers struggle to find work. The material consequences are significant, often devastating, as workers and families struggle to meet their daily needs, let alone indulge in the small luxuries that they’ve been promised by a marketplace of wonder and abundance.
Beyond these immediate material needs, economies — so often treated as playthings by political and economic elites — also shape communities and the psychological well-being of workers in ways that aren’t directly connected to income. In short, individual well-being is tied, at least in part, to the purpose and sociality that attends work. Economic troubles thus not only cost people money; they cost people community and purpose.
Work Is a Source of Well-Being
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Auteur: David Moscrop
