Faculty Member, SOCSI
Cardiff University
Thesis Title: Critical Social Theory and the Will to Happiness - A Study of Anti-Work Subjectivities
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Prof. Ralph Fevre
Dr Finn Bowring |
About
My research focuses on those critical social theorists who have questioned the economic and cultural centrality of paid employment, and sought to open up ‘post-productivist’ ways of responding to the economic, ecological, and personal strains of today’s work-centred society. The contributions of such theorists are highly pertinent at this time, speaking to a number of salient issues such as the persistence of mass unemployment, work-related stress, and environmental concern. A number of critical social theorists have also been confident about the cultural resonance of the critique of work. What has hitherto remained under-explored, however, is whether and how it is actually possible for individuals to live with significantly lower levels of work.
Responding to the need to explore critical social theory on an empirical level, my PhD research utilised a variety of qualitative methods to investigate the values and experiences of a diverse range of people who had chosen to work less, or to give up working. The research explored the values and experiences that motivated participants to disconnect from work, as well as the pleasures and difficulties arising from their choices.
Whilst the beliefs of participants have by no means been collectively expressed or publicly heard, and the participants do not belong to a formalised social movement, findings provided preliminary evidence of a rebellion against work that is more enlightened, more appealing, and more ‘mainstream’ than may have been previously thought. The thesis argues that society might potentially learn something positive and inspiring from the actions and choices of its research participants. Through their stories, the research reopens the debate on the relationship between work and well-being and develops the argument for a bold move away from the ‘work-centred’ agenda of mainstream politics.
