>Having committed the venal sin of actually having read Rifkin's book as well >as Aronowitz & DiFazio's, Yates' and several others I would second Michael's >opinion of Aronowitz & Difazio's book. Rifkin's is more interesting than >A&D's, but mostly because of the material he gleans from (and jazzes up) >Hunnicutt's _Work Without End_ -- how's that for inverting a title! -- and >Roediger and Foner's _Our Own Time_. Yes, Rifkin manages to insert a dollop >of utterly absurd hyperbole -- I don't know if that makes him a charlatan or >just a self-absorbed story-teller. My standard for charlatanism is Toffler; >Rifkin doesn't quite measure up. Maybe my standards are too high. > >My impression of Michael Yates' book was that it was earnest and accessible >in a Monthly Reviewish sort of way, but not particularly innovative or >inspiring in its prescriptions (please don't press me for specifics because >it was over a year ago that I read it). Juliet Schor's _Overworked American_ >didn't excite me particularly. > >In my view, the author that has something really original and important to >say on this topic of technological change, the future of work and working >time is Andre Gorz in _Critique of Economic Reason_. Certainly not as >accessible as Michael's book but a lot meatier. > >I should qualify my comments by pointing out that my perspective in reading >these books is as a policy analyst looking for specific policy hooks rather >than generalized calls for broad mobilization. Perhaps the Gorz wouldn't be >such a good recommendation for a union activist or an undergraduate (unless, >of course, they were really into it). Tom: thanks for the capsule book review. I agree that Gorz is the most serious thinker on work and leisure, going way back to his Strategy for Labor in the mid-70s (?). Though CRITIQUE OF ECONOMIC REASON is perhaps somewhat heavy going for someone without some specialized training or a willingness to work hard, Gorz' earlier PATHS TO PARADISE: ON THE LIBERATION FROM WORK and FAREWELL TO THE WORKING CLASS: AN ESSAY ON POST-INDUSTRIAL SOCIALISM are both excellent (not above criticism, of course) and somewhat more accessible than CRITIQUE. My $2.00 (inflation) Blair Blair Sandler [EMAIL PROTECTED]
