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A review by branch_c
Lost in Work: Escaping Capitalism by Amelia Horgan
3.0
Here’s a key point from this book that I’m in full agreement with:
“It’s not just contingent bad practices that make work harmful. Nor is it the persistence of a few bad jobs. While work can be dangerous, exploitative, or even just boring, _all_ work under capitalism harms workers because of the coercion that pushes us into it, and the lack of control we face during it.” (p. 81)
Horgan mentions or alludes to this more than once - the issue that capitalism requires anyone to work at all is precisely the problem to be solved, and it affects virtually all of us. However, when going beyond this high level summary, rather than facing the issue head on and proposing solutions for it, she veers into discussions of income inequality, feminism, the exploitation of immigrants, and differences between the Global North and the Global South. These are real issues, and there’s probably room for progress on all of them, informed by historical attempts to address them, which Horgan gets into, to some extent, though concrete suggestions are lacking. She references a lot of the thinking on socialism and Marxism, but she seems to stop short of saying that one of these is a ready replacement for capitalism. But then what: is there some kind of compromise possible? There’s an extended discussion of further empowering workers through unions, but this seems likely to make a marginal difference at best, rather than constituting a sweeping societal improvement. Of course I don’t have the answers either, but she’s the knowledgeable expert who’s written this book.
In fact, this book reads like a masters thesis or an extended scholarly paper, with plenty of academic language, appropriate references to other work, and quotes to support her points. It’s all quite accessible and well done, as far as it goes, although note that it is UK-centric, so US readers may have to look up terms like “high street”, “zero hours contract”, “sticking plaster” (okay, I knew that one) and “sixth form college”. But I would have preferred to see a more ambitious conclusion.
There are tentative steps in promising directions; for example, Horgan allows that “capitalism has, so far, been able to produce abundance on a scale that would have been unimaginable before its advent” but goes on to say that “there is not equal access to this abundance.” (p. 100) Exactly right, and for me this hints at possible solutions, but Horgan doesn’t pursue them.
The focus on women, immigrants, and others who have historically, and continue to, benefit the least from capitalism, while valid, for me blunts the impact of the key assertion quoted at the beginning: that we all are victims of the system. Absolutely no one _deserves_ to have to work to survive - not even those of us lucky enough to have higher paying jobs, or the managers, supervisors, and team leaders that Horgan consistently casts as the enemy.
At one point the author seems to explicitly give up the search for a comprehensive solution, stating that “capitalism and its attendant cruelty is unpalatable, but alternatives remain beyond comprehension.” (p. 146) Later she allows that a “variety of solutions have been opposed to the problem of capitalist work” and lists a few of these, including, for example, universal basic income, but follows that by saying that she doesn’t “want to argue for a particular prescription, one clear, true path.” (p. 164) Okay, but then someone else will have to, if we are to solve the problem.
Ultimately, then, this book is certainly interesting; it makes important points that are convincing to me and I hope will be to others as well. What it lacks, though, is a significant contribution toward resolving the issues raised.
“It’s not just contingent bad practices that make work harmful. Nor is it the persistence of a few bad jobs. While work can be dangerous, exploitative, or even just boring, _all_ work under capitalism harms workers because of the coercion that pushes us into it, and the lack of control we face during it.” (p. 81)
Horgan mentions or alludes to this more than once - the issue that capitalism requires anyone to work at all is precisely the problem to be solved, and it affects virtually all of us. However, when going beyond this high level summary, rather than facing the issue head on and proposing solutions for it, she veers into discussions of income inequality, feminism, the exploitation of immigrants, and differences between the Global North and the Global South. These are real issues, and there’s probably room for progress on all of them, informed by historical attempts to address them, which Horgan gets into, to some extent, though concrete suggestions are lacking. She references a lot of the thinking on socialism and Marxism, but she seems to stop short of saying that one of these is a ready replacement for capitalism. But then what: is there some kind of compromise possible? There’s an extended discussion of further empowering workers through unions, but this seems likely to make a marginal difference at best, rather than constituting a sweeping societal improvement. Of course I don’t have the answers either, but she’s the knowledgeable expert who’s written this book.
In fact, this book reads like a masters thesis or an extended scholarly paper, with plenty of academic language, appropriate references to other work, and quotes to support her points. It’s all quite accessible and well done, as far as it goes, although note that it is UK-centric, so US readers may have to look up terms like “high street”, “zero hours contract”, “sticking plaster” (okay, I knew that one) and “sixth form college”. But I would have preferred to see a more ambitious conclusion.
There are tentative steps in promising directions; for example, Horgan allows that “capitalism has, so far, been able to produce abundance on a scale that would have been unimaginable before its advent” but goes on to say that “there is not equal access to this abundance.” (p. 100) Exactly right, and for me this hints at possible solutions, but Horgan doesn’t pursue them.
The focus on women, immigrants, and others who have historically, and continue to, benefit the least from capitalism, while valid, for me blunts the impact of the key assertion quoted at the beginning: that we all are victims of the system. Absolutely no one _deserves_ to have to work to survive - not even those of us lucky enough to have higher paying jobs, or the managers, supervisors, and team leaders that Horgan consistently casts as the enemy.
At one point the author seems to explicitly give up the search for a comprehensive solution, stating that “capitalism and its attendant cruelty is unpalatable, but alternatives remain beyond comprehension.” (p. 146) Later she allows that a “variety of solutions have been opposed to the problem of capitalist work” and lists a few of these, including, for example, universal basic income, but follows that by saying that she doesn’t “want to argue for a particular prescription, one clear, true path.” (p. 164) Okay, but then someone else will have to, if we are to solve the problem.
Ultimately, then, this book is certainly interesting; it makes important points that are convincing to me and I hope will be to others as well. What it lacks, though, is a significant contribution toward resolving the issues raised.