Sul rapporto tra tempo di vita e tempo di lavoro. Quale futuro per i nostri nipoti?

Abstract

Starting from an empirical datum, i.e. the substantial stagnation that has been recorded for decades in the relationship between living time and working time, the essay discusses the trend of the failure to reduce working time for the same wage, and does so through the thought of two now classic intellectuals, John M. Keynes and Bertrand Russell. Beginning with the theories of the two British thinkers, some cardinal elements of the Marxian analysis of the relationship between living and working time are then discussed: the length of the working day and the wage issue as the battleground between those who buy and those who sell labour power; the irreconcilable interests of these two parties, with the weak position of the one who sells herself to earn a living; the need for a social protection law of constitutional rank to protect the weaker party. In the conclusions, recent developments are discussed as well as some brief hints on possible future scenarios of the topic under analysis.