The Moral Economy Of Dignity: Bringing The Worker Back Into Discussions About The Future Of Work

• In Event: Economic Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Roundtable 6: Markets, Culture, and Moral economy

Abstract

What future of work do workers resisting precarity envision? What role does collective organizing play in shaping that vision? While there has been significant growth in studies discussing work beyond precarity, they do not discuss how collective worker voice can shape a future double movement aimed at decommodifying labor. Using qualitative evidence from two precarious worker organizing campaigns, namely, restaurant workers and rideshare drivers, I argue for bringing the worker back into discussions about the future of work. I show how workers rejected prevalent assumptions about the antagonistic duality between flexibility (market logic) and security (social protectionist logic), as an artificial construct created by employers. Despite the many differences between the two groups, both identified security as collective (labor) rights to ensure respect and recognition, while flexibility was seen as the promise of greater autonomy made possible by technological advances. Workers constructed a moral economic vision centering Dignity (respect, recognition, and autonomy) as a non-negotiable part of the exchange between labor and capital. Furthermore, in practice, symbolic and material demands were used interchangeably, making a demand for better wages also a demand for respect, while a demand for paid wait time was also a demand to secure autonomy. Empirical evidence points to multiple important theoretical conclusions about how scholars in economic and labor sociology can expand discussions on employment precarity and the future of work.

Author

• Arnab Chakraborty, University of Southern California