Towards a New Philosophy of Work in the Digital Economy

In its advocacy of a new vision for the concept of ‘work’, and how that would impact on the notion of the ‘worker’, chapter three makes the argument for the reconfiguration of our notion of paid employment. There is an inextricable link between virtually all universal basic income (UBI) schemes and work/non-work. Whether it relates to the need either to supplement the income of those in precarious jobs or to provide income to all those whose jobs are likely to be lost as a result of the increasing effectiveness of automation in a variety of workplaces, basic income schemes are usually seen as providing material support when this cannot adequately be obtained through paid employment. In this sense, this chapter argues that a UBI would go a long way in loosening the ties between working hours and having sufficient money to provide for oneself and one’s family. It also analyses the extent to which automation has made many jobs less than worthwhile, even if the continued employment of people in those particular roles might superficially suggest otherwise [Graeber, Bullshit jobs: A theory. Penguin (2018)]. Taken together, these points are used to think through how we might redefine the role and scope of the job, the quantity of jobs throughout society, and how non-work might be justified.