| Abstract: | We are slaves to employment and its institutions—employers, trade unions, government—no less than medieval man was to church, baron, and manor. The apparent failure of technology to liberate us from full-time jobs is due to our dependence on the institutional economy and the use of employment for social control. Universal employment is not only a dubious privilege, but one we cannot afford. Today there is a physical and psychological flight from modern employment. The growth of the informal or free economy offers a way forward. It promises greater opportunities for women, those with manual skills, and the permanent resident, although there is not much in it for the mobile executive on the make. |
