Work and citizenship: towards an enriched connection

Abstract

The trap placed by capitalism tor its critics, which is to defend the use of the labour force by capital as a "right", assumes today an important specific nature: the historical return of the substitution of machinery for men, through microelectronic automation, means the overcoming of Taylorism- Fordism. This mode of production meant the mediocrization of capitalism as for the development of productive forces, because it founded the production on live labour The historical end of Taylorism-Fordism is lamented by many because it has created a "virtuous capital/labour circle" which strengthened trade unions and raised wages. In fact, capitalism is again genial in the development of productive forces, wich will emphasize even more its mediocrity as a social form. So it will be possible (and necessary) to transcend the empoverished connection between work and citizenship, typical of fordism, towards an enriched association between these two concepts.