Post-work

Mathias Levi Toft Kristiansen

Chapter 3 in Elgar Encyclopedia of Economic Anthropology, 2025, pp 227-230 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The emergence of the concept of “post-work” reflects a growing interest in both criticizing and proposing alternatives to the current capitalist work structures. Post-work scholars highlight the shortcomings of current work practices, which are heavily influenced by economic growth, financialization, productivity, job insecurity, and technological automation. Moreover, they encourage us to envision an alternative labor organization that would create a fairer and environmentally sustainable society centered on non-work values. Through the analysis of U.S. multi-level marketers, I show how post-work can signify both the rejection and embrace of neoliberal capitalism. The goal of multi-level marketers is to replace salaried employment with financialized approaches to earning money. This entails imagining oneself as someone who generates “passive income” by investing in relationships. The entry highlights the importance of ethnographic and anthropological research in understanding the ways financial imaginaries influence communities’ perception and aspirations for a life without paid work.

Keywords: Post-work; Capitalism; Employment; Financialization; Economic imaginaries; United States (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035312566
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