Economics, Philosophy and the Neglect of Labour

Economics and Philosophy explores a fundamental dichotomy in the concept of labour: firstly, its reduction to mere instrumentality in production, a view originating from British moral philosophy and perpetuated by Adam Smith and his followers; secondly, the conception of labour as a purposeful accomplishment of collective goals, rooted in the Aristotelian tradition as further developed by Hegel and Marx. This book presents a critical examination of Heidegger’s efforts to undermine the latter perspective, followed by Lukacs’s counterargument that posits labour as the cornerstone of social practice and a driver of ongoing social innovation.

Traditionally, as a subject of study, labour has fallen into the chasm between economics and philosophy, a gap that this book uniquely bridges. Geoffrey Kay and James Mott explore labour as the definitive model of creativity from the era of Thomas Aquinas (1225-74) to Butler’s "Analogy of Religion" (1736), then delve into the pre-history of modern labour. This examination reveals a dual perspective: on one side, a stigma attached to the productive efforts of the mechanical arts, and on the other, a recognition of labour as a valuable economic contributor. Offering an analysis of legal and administrative systems that perpetuate labour’s subservience to capital, this book also provides a novel reinterpretation of Marx’s labour theory of value that starts with the concept of profit in monetary terms, discarding the notion of abstract labour, thereby aligning Marx''s Aristotelian labour philosophy with his critique of political economy.

This book treats labour as a timeless, socially neutral activity, one that needs to be analysed in categories that can extend beyond capitalism’s depiction of labour. In particular, it provides a platform for a rethinking of the categories in which we understand capitalism, as well as what it means to ‘labour’.