Modern understanding of work

Work occupies a central place in contemporary thought, legislation, and speculative thinking. Often, however, work is understood as either a means to economic development, particularly through the use of technology, or as a means of individual self-fulfillment alone.

The former view tends to emphasize the objective aspects of work: namely, the ennoblement of matter through the intervention of men and women, often through the mediation of human-made machinery and computers. It emphasizes the value of capital over labor, and tends to de-humanize work. An extreme example of this posture is the quasi-religious motto of the Nazis: ``Work will redeem Germany.'' The latter view, often as an over-reaction to the detrimental effects of the obsession with productivity, tends towards the worship of the individual, emphasizing the subjective aspects of work: the self-fulfillment achieved through work, understood materially and in terms of external marks: success, fame, or monetary satisfaction.

Both approaches frequently lead to an attitude of worship of work: an idol to which should be sacrificed the whole human person, his or her family, and ultimately the whole of society. These utilitarian views of work lead to a feeling of hopelessness, to the sad suspicion that our labor lacks any meaning.