Workers in a State of 'Disenchantment': Constructing the Rationality of Legal Mobilization

• In Event: 50414 - Citizens Interpretations and Experiences of Law

Abstract

As work structures and labor protections become increasingly precarious, legal mobilization is often viewed as a critical avenue for workers to assert their rights. Yet, the process of engaging with legal institutions is marked by disenchantment, as workers encounter procedural obstacles, administrative inefficiencies, and employer resistance. How, then, will workers continue to construct the rationality of legal mobilization in the future? Drawing on in-depth interviews with 22 workers who have undergone labor arbitration, as well as online discussions and field observations, this study examines how workers sustain their engagement with the legal system despite recognizing its limitations. Rather than abandoning legal mobilization, workers construct interpretive frameworks that rationalize continued participation in arbitration. Three distinct narratives emerge: a legality-centered narrative, in which workers attribute unfavorable outcomes to personal shortcomings rather than systemic flaws; an enforcement-centered narrative, which views procedural failures as administrative inefficiencies rather than intrinsic legal deficiencies; and a resistance-centered narrative, which reframes arbitration as a strategic tool to challenge employer misconduct. These findings contribute to scholarship on labor rights and legal consciousness by demonstrating that disenchantment with legal institutions does not necessarily lead to disengagement. Instead, workers’ legal consciousness is continually reconstituted through dynamic interactions with the arbitration system, shaping patterns of legal mobilization in a rapidly shifting labor landscape. This study highlights the paradox of legal disenchantment as a generative rather than merely deterrent force, offering insights into how workers navigate labor precarity and the contested terrain of legal rights in the future of work.

Author

• Xuanyu Wu, Zhejiang University