Séminaire général : « Political Theory of Work – Political Organization of Work in Idealist, Utopian and Market Rational Traditions»

In this paper I examine the question of the political organization of work through classics of idealist, utopian and market rational thought traditions. I begin with the analysis of the concept of work in the classic of idealist tradition, that is, Plato’s Republic. Plato’s argumentation concerning the political organization of work is based on the dichotomy between work and reason. The division between thinkers and physical labourers is fundamental, socially unequal and tension producing dichotomy, which calls for political resolution. I analyse how Plato aims to resolve this crucial problem. Secondly, I turn first classical utopian text, Thomas More’s Utopia. With More I am also interested on how he attempts to resolve the contradiction between workers and intellectuals. I argue that at the core of both classical works lies the question of a rational reorganization of labour, which is expected to solve the social injustices and problems arising from an improper distribution of work. After analysing these two canonical texts I move on to examine the intellectual framework that challenged them during the 17th century: the fundamentally anti utopian tradition of liberal political economy, committed to private property, market society, and the rationality of market processes. Following primarily the line of argument presented in John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government, I outline the fundamental principles of the market process, rationality, and division of labour that classical political economy assumed to constitute the natural organization of society. In the conclusion I ask what these three analyses can inform about the role of work in classical political theory, and how these aspects could be investigated within contemporary political theory.

Mikko JAKONEN est Professeur de Politique Sociale et Publique à la University of Eastern Finland, Finlande.