Beyond disutility: the goods involved in work

Abstract

The paper discusses the assumption of work as (exclusively) disutility-generating. By emphasizing consumption over production, the marginalists discarded the analysis of social interactions and focused on “the naked fact of choice” which contributed to excluding action, labour and the relations between men from economic analysis. We argue that the value of work for workers goes well beyond that of the commodities it enables them to secure. Along with pecuniary gains, workers seek for and nurture relational goods and moral goods at work. The latter are conceived as common goods, namely goods that are shared and recognised as beneficial by the interacting individuals.