Jan Kandayali (İTÜ)
“Marx on Meaningful Work”
Date: Friday 7 April, 2017
Time: 1100-1230
Place: G-160
Abstract: While the idea of meaningful work is historically associated with Karl Marx, recent defences of the idea have tended to eschew Marx’s theory on the grounds that it is is incoherent and not necessarily desirable. In this paper I argue that this eschewal is a mistake. Marx’s theory, though not without its problems, has the resources to respond to the family of objections that are often thought fatal to it; moreover, his writings continue to provide us with a theory of work from which we can learn. Indeed, it is argued that we find in Marx a plausible theory of meaningful work, one that focuses on the contribution that producing for others can make to our well-being.
