Evolving Work

The idea of Self and the authenticity of particular identities have been rapidly dissolving in the acids of post-modern globalising capitalism. The hegemony of patterns of work, wage-labor and the operation of labour markets in the American West (and European North) has ridden rough-shod over distinctive ways of enabling communities to flourish in many parts of the Southern and Eastern worlds (Global South). But, this is not inevitable. Indeed, as this book indicates, there are many practical examples across the globe - that connect with some of the most significant theoretical challenges to the operation of dehumanising work - which reveal that a profound reversal is taking place. As such, the core theme of this book is to show that a movement is occurring whereby self-employment can be transformed into communal work that employs the Self in ways that release the authentic vocations of people, individually and collectively. The approach taken in these chapters traverses the globe, utilising the original 'integral worlds' model that will be familiar to students of the Trans4M/Routledge Transformation and Innovation series, developed over more than a decade. Such a standpoint points the way to the release of particular social and economic cultures in each of what we term the four "realities" or "worldviews" of South, East, North and Western worlds. In this book we use the methodology of GENEalogy - identifying the realms associated with each world - to show how the rhythms, that is Grounding, Emergence, Navigation and Effect, of each is leading to greater economic, social and spiritual freedom for individuals, organisations, communities and, indeed, entire societies.

Ronnie Lessem is a co-founder of Trans4m. He has been a management educator and consultant in Africa, Asia, Europe and America and is the author of over 30 books on the development of self, business and society. Tony Bradley is Tutor in Social Economy and a member of the research team within the SEARCH Centre of Liverpool Hope Business School. He has published a number of books and journal articles on green sociology, political economy and pastoral theology.

PART I Introducing evolving work: employing self and community 1. Centring: releasing GENE-IUS: integrity at work PART II South: employing the community 2. Chinyika: grounding local people: communal identity to communal upskilling 3. Civil economy: gift relationship to emancipatory work 4. Relational sociology: collaborative platforms to humane working 5. Employing community: communal confederalism to women's communes PART III East: employing the self 6. The noetics of nature: self realisation to divine trade 7. Economics of the household: home working to partner with others 8. Commonwealth: ethical egoism to sustainable livelihood 9. Sarvodaya: dignified work to multiple capitals PART IV North: beyond employment: work as recreation 10. The quest for meaning: agape economics to rehoming work 11. Critique of political economy: sustainable employment to regenerative work 12. The otium of the people: automated work to work as recreation 13. Open source: immaterial labour to social networking PART V West: transforming employment: self, enterprise and new community 14. Post-liberalism: transformed workplaces to blockchain distribution 15. Basic income: valuing identity to people's fund 16. Social credit: national balance to citizen's dividend 17. Integral banking: communitalism to communipreneurship 18. Evolving work: employing community, self and enterprise