The assumption is that by working, you are contributing to society. There are some Americans who feel work satisfaction and think they are contributing to society - and some of them certainly are. But many Americans know full well that when they go to work, they are not only not contributing to society, but are probably doing society damage.

Social historian Eva Swidler explores the radical potential of work resistance, explains how the labor movement of the 20th century traded the promise of way less working hours for slightly more wages (and why more radical unions in the future might reexamine that compromise) and makes the case for collective action and working class solidarity as the only way individuals can reclaim their limited time from the unlimited demands of capitalism.

Eva wrote the Monthly Review article Radical Leisure.