Work (book)

Work: Capitalism, Economics, Resistance is a 376-page anarchist polemic by the CrimethInc. ex-Workers' Collective.^[1] Published in 2011, the book examines capitalist economy from historical and functional perspectives, investigating the intersections between micro- and macro-economics, finance, globalization, political power and legitimacy, class, consumerism, police, prisons, technology, social oppression and identity politics, education, and ideology.

Structure

Work is formally divided into two sections: 'I. The Occupation' (with subsections 'i. Work' and 'ii. The Economy') and 'II. The Resistance.' Subsection 'ii. The Economy' fills pages 39-327, the majority of the book. Structurally, Work is built in three parts:

Pages 10-38 function as an introduction, casting a narrative association between a military 'occupation' and a professional 'occupation,' attempting to define the word 'work,' and finally attacking various 'myths' about work (e.g. 'Work is necessary,' 'Work is productive,' 'Work creates wealth').
Pages 39-327 (i.e. Section I, subsection ii, 'The Economy') use historical development and function to create a factually-accurate narrative of capitalism, emphasizing the breadth of its insinuation into every element of human life.
Pages 328-371 provide suggestions and prompts for alternatives to capitalism and strategies of resistance.

Context

Work was published three years into a recession/stagnation brought on by the 2008 financial crash which seriously affected the US and global economy. The 2008 crash coincided with the election of Barack Obama to US President, the first African-American to hold this office. A cartoon-figure who may be meant to represent Obama appears in the poster and on page 58 of the book. Finally, Work was published roughly a decade into the American occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Poster

Work is sold in conjunction with a poster titled Capitalism Is a Pyramid Scheme, which is a modern update of the famed Pyramid of Capitalist System poster.

Pyramid of Capitalist System

References

↑ Work: Capitalism, Economics, Resistance. Salem, OR: Crimethinc ex-Workers' Collective. 2011.

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