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Digital Audiobook
The Politics of Time by Guy Standing

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The Politics of Time

Publisher
Penguin Books Ltd
Publish Date
26 October 2023
Run Time
11 hours 23 minutes
Format
Audiobook
$13.95

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

How does a person organize a good life? The ancient Greeks divided time into five types: labour, work, leisure, play and aergia (contemplation). But labour was separated from work, as painful, onerous work undertaken for survival, whereas work could include caring for family members, study, or political activities. But now our jobs are supposed to provide all meaning in life and our time outside of work is thought of as simply 'time off'.

Time has been political throughout history. In the Industrial Era employers sought to define labour as virtuous, and in our current era of runaway neoliberalism, salaried workers find their mental health plummeting, public services are stretched to breaking point and inequality is soaring, while the time of those in insecure employment is being stolen from them in increasingly byzantine and humiliating ways.

We must recognize that time is political, a resource more precious than money, that must be defended at all costs, and revive ancient forms of tending ourselves, the planet and each other, through commoning. We can retake control of our time, but we must do it together.

©2023 Guy Standing (P)2023 Penguin Audio

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Details

Author
Guy Standing
Narrator
Kerry Hutchinson
Duration
11 hours 23 minutes
Release Date
26 October 2023
ISBN
9780241667163
Format
Audiobook
Publisher
Penguin Books Ltd
Genre
Political economy, Labour / income economics, Working patterns and practices, Social and cultural history, Sociology: work and labour, Political science and theory, Poverty and precarity, Economic theory and philosophy

Synopsis

Brought to you by Penguin.How does a person organize a good life? The ancient Greeks divided time into five types: labour, work, leisure, play and aergia (contemplation). But labour was separated from work, as painful, onerous work undertaken for survival, whereas work could include caring for family members, study, or political activities. But now our jobs are supposed to provide all meaning in life and our time outside of work is thought of as simply 'time off'.Time has been political throughout history. In the Industrial Era employers sought to define labour as virtuous, and in our current era of runaway neoliberalism, salaried workers find their mental health plummeting, public services are stretched to breaking point and inequality is soaring, while the time of those in insecure employment is being stolen from them in increasingly byzantine and humiliating ways.We must recognize that time is political, a resource more precious than money, that must be defended at all costs, and revive ancient forms of tending ourselves, the planet and each other, through commoning. We can retake control of our time, but we must do it together.©2023 Guy Standing (P)2023 Penguin Audio

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