• A Poet’s Answer

Key texts

• Work - an introduction libcom.org's, clear, short introduction to work, what is wrong with it, and what we can do about it.
• Work and the free society - Anarchist Federation A more detailed pamphlet from the AF analysing work in capitalist society, explaining its history and suggesting how work could be organised in a free society.
• Useful work versus useless toil - William Morris The British libertarian socialist artist writes on the difference between socially useful work and useless work only necessary under capitalism.
• A ballad against work - Kamunist Kranti A pamphlet about and against work from an Indian libertarian communist group.

Unwaged work

• Wages against housework - Silvia Federici Autonomist Marxist feminist Silvia Federici on wages and housework.
• Women, the unions and work, or… what is not to be done - Selma James - Excellent critique of the structural position of unions, work, and unwaged labour from a feminist perspective. By Selma James (1972).
• The problem with work: feminism, marxism, antiwork politics and postwork imaginaries - Kathi Weeks In this book, Weeks challenges the presupposition that work is inherently a social and political good. While progressive political movements, including the Marxist and feminist movements, have fought for equal pay, better work conditions, and the recognition of unpaid work as a valued form of labor, even they have tended to accept work as a naturalized or inevitable activity. Weeks argues that in taking work as a given, we have “depoliticized” it, or removed it from the realm of political critique.

Workplace organising

• Workplace organising guide libcom.org's guide to organising in your workplace.
• Faceless resistance: everyday resistance at a Swedish bakery Tales of work and struggle at a large bakery facing closure.
• An account of setting up workplace assemblies A ceramics worker recounts how workers at his plant won the right to hold meetings in work time.
• Workplace activity libcom.org's archive of accounts of people organising in the workplace.

Anti-work

• Office worker's survival guide - Steven Johns - Helpful guide with suggestions on how to navigate the workplace hazards of stress, repetitive strain injury (RSI) and mindnumbing boredom to a happy work life, and perhaps a slightly better world.