The Refusal of Work summary

Given how forcefully Marx argued for less work, it would be easy to assume he didn’t care much for work in general. But that’s far from true. Consider the length of the books he wrote – Das Kapital alone is over a thousand pages. Writing foundational texts on society, economics, and politics, Marx clearly loved to work. Even more, he saw value in it beyond a simple paycheck. 

Marx argued that people self-actualize through work. He defined work as humans purposefully reshaping the natural world and extending the possibilities of human life. 

When does a day’s work truly end? Is it when you stand up from your desk? Maybe it’s when you arrive home after a long commute and pour yourself a glass of wine. But what if you’re still mulling over that expense report you sent to Brenda in accounting? Or the phone pings while you’re putting your kid to bed, and you feel a wave of anxiety that it might be your boss? It can feel like your work never stops. 

For many of us, most non-work time is spent winding down from work. We consume escapist forms of entertainment and enjoy treats to compensate for the day’s indignities. But as long as our free time is determined by a force we can’t control, it’s not free at all. 

In times past, it was convenient for privileged classes to limit their workers’ leisure time. More hours spent by workers at their stations meant more profit for management. But far worse, the working classes couldn’t be trusted to spend their free time wisely, and might indulge in alcohol, entertainment, or other immoral pursuits if given the chance. 

Members of the bourgeois classes also feared workers with leisure time might spend it taking part in collective action to improve their lot. If days off threatened profits, a politically awakened underclass would be disastrous. 

We discuss unemployed people as though they are a singular type, with predictable backgrounds and similar psychological tendencies. Most often, we speak of their deficiencies. But people’s job status is based on a variety of factors. 

To understand what it looks like when someone attempts to decolonize their lives of work, the author David Frayne interviewed dozens of people who have made the choice to work less. Each person had thoughtfully considered their reasons for resisting work, and all were coping with their new lifestyles with varying degrees of success.  

It is safe to say most people in the world don’t love their jobs. To get through the day, we fantasize about telling Frank in HR what we really think of his latest memo, then go home and binge-watch The Office while self-medicating with our favorite mood-altering substance or activity. 

Cynicism about work is itself a form of rebellion, like the McDonald’s worker who secretly wears a “McShit” logo T-shirt under her uniform. This personal subversion lets her appear outwardly to conform to institutional values while keeping some of her autonomy intact.