Tag Archives: work

Manufacturing Personal Happiness

Posted on October 29, 2019 by

by Edgar Cabanas‏* Happiness is one of the most pervasive, fast-spreading, and controvertible phenomena of the twentieth century. Grown into an obsessive pursuit, a lucrative industry, and a flawed albeit very popular science, the pursuit of happiness has woven itself … Continue reading →

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Leonora Barry: a pioneer statistician of women’s labour

Posted on March 8, 2018 by

by Eli Cook* Unfortunately yet unsurprisingly, the world of economic quantification was dominated by men in the nineteenth century. In honor of International Women’s Day, here is a story, excerpted from my book The Pricing of Progress, on Leonora Barry, one of … Continue reading →

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Calling for Resistance: the Electronic Panopticon of Call Centers and the Neoliberal Future of Work

Posted on February 5, 2018 by

by Jamie Woodcock* For Working the Phones: Control and Resistance in Call Centres, I spent six months working undercover in a call centre in the UK. Taking inspiration from workers’ inquiry – a Marxist method of co-research that combines knowledge production with organising … Continue reading →

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Is Homo Economicus Dead?

Posted on December 7, 2017 by

by Peter Fleming* In Martin Scorsese’s film The Wolf of Wall Street the narcissistic, egotistical and money hungry investment banker Jordan Belford memorably summed up his attitude to life: “Let me tell you something. There’s no nobility in poverty. I’ve been … Continue reading →

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Human Capital

Posted on November 4, 2017 by

“Our employees are our greatest asset. I say we sell them”, by William Haefeli *** Join Economic Sociology and Political Economy community via Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Google+ / Instagram / Tumblr

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The Closing of the Mind

Posted on November 20, 2016 by

“What is advertised as a great opening is a great closing.” Allan Bloom, The Closing of the American Mind (1987), p. 34 “Landscape with Figures” by George Tooker (1992) *** Join the Economic Sociology and Political Economy community through Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Google+ / Instagram / Reddit / Tumblr

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The Alienated Consciousness, Homo Economicus and Capitalism

Posted on September 11, 2015 by

Norman O. Brown, a brilliant American scholar and social philosopher: “The alienated consciousness is correlative with a money economy. Its root is the compulsion to work. This compulsion to work subordinates man to things, producing at the same time confusion in the valuation of … Continue reading →

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Sociologists are here to stay! We won’t be defeated by computers! :-)

Posted on August 16, 2014 by

According to the study on computerization of work, the likelihood of Sociologists to be replaced by machines is only 0.059 (Hooray!), for Economists that is 0.43, Computer Programmers 0.48, Stock Clerks / Building Inspectors is 0.64, Property/Real Estate Managers is … Continue reading →

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The Economics of Workaholism: We Should Not Have Worked on This Paper

Posted on May 13, 2014 by

 I think the title of this (open access) paper tells its story pretty good. I hope you’ll find time to squeeze it in  😉A large literature examines the addictive properties of such behaviors as smoking, drinking alcohol and eating. Daniel Hamermesh … Continue reading →

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Against Capitalism – Gerald Allan Cohen

Posted on December 26, 2011 by

In this short talk, a political philosopher Gerald “Jerry” Cohen offers a eloquent critique of capitalism. His critique revolves around common defenses. He suggests that even the existence of people who have earned their riches legitimately and through their own … Continue reading →

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Identity Economics: Economists discover norms and social values

Posted on October 4, 2011 by

George Akerlof and Rachel Kranton’s Identity Economics: How Our Identities Shape Our Work, Wages, and Well-Being provides an important and compelling way to understand human behavior, revealing how our identities–and not just economic incentives–influence our decisions. In 1995, economist Rachel Kranton … Continue reading →

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Evolution of British Economic Sociology: From Local and ‘Industrial’ to Comparative and ‘Economic’

Posted on September 6, 2011 by

What have been the key shifts of emphasis in the research agenda of British economic sociology over the last four decades? Duncan Gallie (Nuffield College) tackles this question and presents a concise and interesting review of changing perspectives in British … Continue reading →

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