Autonomy and Automation – serie

Are we doomed because of the new digital technologies used in workspaces? Can we avoid measuring in our work? Or are we trapped in a metrification dystopia? Can we create workspaces that can produce what we prefer in order to use our human effort in ways that support nature and our communities? And if yes, what technologies could we use?Here, monetary-theorist Irene Sotiropoulou explores and critiques the information and communication means that were created for capitalist profit-making, showing how we can subvert these and use them for our own non-capitalist purposes. Machines Against Measures shows that in times of capitalist restructuring and multiple social reproduction crises, there open up new possibilities to experiment with quantity, measuring, machines and digital technologies, creating new ways of production and transaction. Within these, are ways of sharing and producing that defy many principles of capitalist relations. Using everyday examples from grassroots activity, this book offers new insights into how to be inventive with what we have at hand and be able to reflect on what technologies we truly need, revealing a grounded and practical vision of technology and work, based on re-defining why and how we measure what we do.

Are we doomed because of the new digital technologies used in workspaces? Can we avoid measuring in our work? Or are we trapped in a metrification dystopia? Can we create workspaces that can produce what we prefer in order to use our human effort in ways that support nature and our communities? And if yes, what technologies could we use?Here, monetary-theorist Irene Sotiropoulou explores and critiques the information and communication means that were created for capitalist profit-making, showing how we can subvert these and use them for our own non-capitalist purposes. Machines Against Measures shows that in times of capitalist restructuring and multiple social reproduction crises, there open up new possibilities to experiment with quantity, measuring, machines and digital technologies, creating new ways of production and transaction. Within these, are ways of sharing and producing that defy many principles of capitalist relations. Using everyday examples from grassroots activity, this book offers new insights into how to be inventive with what we have at hand and be able to reflect on what technologies we truly need, revealing a grounded and practical vision of technology and work, based on re-defining why and how we measure what we do.

The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally shifted our relationship with work. After years of lockdown, and with many employees working from home, this was the first time in nearly two centuries that people below the class divide found themselves with just as much time for leisure, recreation, and quality time with loved ones as those above. The time away from work changed priorities and opened minds across the working-class, and new demands were now being made in much higher numbers and in far more workplaces than ever. In cases where bosses refused to comply with these demands, a large quantity of the workers quit their jobs, giving way to a movement now referred to as “The Great Resignation.”In this book, Micah J. Fleck questions whether work will ever go back to the way it was, or whether this fundamental change could lead to us completely rethinking our approach to labor. Exploring also the rise in the use of A.I. to replace jobs, Fleck's book dives into the culture and concept of “work” as a virtue to determine how we see "work" today, whether it was an organic evolution of a system of labor, and how much of it has been enforced by an outdated and crumbling economic status quo.

The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally shifted our relationship with work. After years of lockdown, and with many employees working from home, this was the first time in nearly two centuries that people below the class divide found themselves with just as much time for leisure, recreation, and quality time with loved ones as those above. The time away from work changed priorities and opened minds across the working-class, and new demands were now being made in much higher numbers and in far more workplaces than ever. In cases where bosses refused to comply with these demands, a large quantity of the workers quit their jobs, giving way to a movement now referred to as “The Great Resignation.”In this book, Micah J. Fleck questions whether work will ever go back to the way it was, or whether this fundamental change could lead to us completely rethinking our approach to labor. Exploring also the rise in the use of A.I. to replace jobs, Fleck's book dives into the culture and concept of “work” as a virtue to determine how we see "work" today, whether it was an organic evolution of a system of labor, and how much of it has been enforced by an outdated and crumbling economic status quo.

How do markets function? Who creates, shapes and organizes them? And what do they mean for the relationship between labor and capital?This open access book examines how the state and capital use markets to discipline the working class. Ian Greer and Charles Umney provide a comprehensive overview of the European political economy, from the European Commission to the workplace, to show how neoliberal principles translate into market mechanisms and reshape the lives of workers.Drawing on dozens of conversations with policymakers, administrators, businesses, workers, and trade unionists across many European countries, Greer and Umney unpack marketization. They go beyond liberal theories that see markets as natural forms of economic organization and broad-brush left critiques of neoliberalism, looking behind the scenes in the current European political economy to examine the practicalities of how markets are created and manipulated by employers, policymakers and bureaucrats in pursuit of greater profitability. Far from leading to greater freedom, these processes often override the rights of individuals, degrade the status and security of workers, and undermine democratic accountability.The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by The University of Leeds and Cornell University.