Hijacked: How Neoliberalism Turned the Work Ethic against Workers and How Workers Can Take It Back

The work ethic has been a battleground between two ideologies: those that support the wealth and power of the One Percent and those that promote workers' dignity and standing. Hijacked reveals how the neoliberal ideology deploys the work ethic on behalf of the One Percent, while workers and their advocates have long used it on behalf of ordinary people. By exposing the ideological roots of contemporary neoliberalism as a perversion of the seventeenth-century Protestant work ethic, Elizabeth Anderson shows how we can reclaim the original goals of the work ethic and uplift ourselves again.

Format: Hardback
Length: 384 pages
Publication date: 21 September 2023
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

The concept of work ethic has been a subject of debate for centuries, with different interpretations of its purpose and implications. In recent years, the work ethic has been particularly relevant in the context of economic policies that promote the wealth and power of the One Percent at the expense of workers. This has led to concerns about the fairness and sustainability of such policies.

One interpretation of the work ethic is that it is a moral principle that encourages individuals to work hard and be productive, and that this productivity should be rewarded with economic success. This view is often associated with the Protestant work ethic, which emphasizes the importance of hard work and self-discipline as a means of achieving salvation.

However, another interpretation of the work ethic is that it is a tool that is used by the ruling class to justify policies that benefit the wealthy at the expense of the working class. This view suggests that the work ethic is used to promote a sense of individual responsibility and self-improvement, but that these values are ultimately used to reinforce the existing power structures and inequalities in society.

Hijacked, a book by Elizabeth Anderson, explores the history of the work ethic and its relationship to economic policies. Anderson argues that the work ethic has been hijacked by the neoliberal ideology, which uses it to promote policies that benefit the One Percent at the expense of ordinary workers.

According to Anderson, the neoliberal ideology perverts the original goals of the work ethic by promoting a sense of individual responsibility and self-improvement, but these values are ultimately used to reinforce the existing power structures and inequalities in society. She argues that the work ethic should be reclaimed by workers and their advocates as a tool for promoting workers' dignity and standing.

One of the key arguments in Hijacked is that the work ethic was originally developed as a means of promoting social mobility and equality. Anderson argues that the Protestant work ethic was developed in response to the social and economic challenges of the seventeenth century, particularly the rise of capitalism and the exploitation of workers. The work ethic was seen as a way of promoting individual responsibility and self-improvement, but it was also seen as a means of promoting social cohesion and stability.

However, over time, the work ethic has been increasingly used by the ruling class to justify policies that benefit the wealthy at the expense of the working class. Anderson argues that the neoliberal ideology has hijacked the work ethic by promoting a narrow view of individual responsibility and self-improvement, which is ultimately used to reinforce the existing power structures and inequalities in society.

In conclusion, the work ethic has been a subject of debate for centuries, with different interpretations of its purpose and implications. In recent years, the work ethic has been particularly relevant in the context of economic policies that promote the wealth and power of the One Percent at the expense of workers. Hijacked, by Elizabeth Anderson, explores the history of the work ethic and its relationship to economic policies, arguing that the work ethic has been hijacked by the neoliberal ideology and that it should be reclaimed by workers and their advocates as a tool for promoting workers' dignity and standing. By exposing the ideological roots of contemporary neoliberalism as a perversion of the seventeenth-century Protestant work ethic, Anderson shows how we can reclaim the original goals of the work ethic and uplift ourselves again.

Weight: 692g
Dimension: 159 x 237 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781009275439