Scholarly record
LABOR AS A NON-ECONOMIC ACTION
Abstract
In modern society, labor becomes a complex and diverse action. The forms of labor are changing, and it`s boundaries are eroding. In these conditions it is important to rethink the economic understanding of labor. The main goal of this article is to formulate special aspects of labor as of a non-economic action. To achieve the goal the author analyzed such notions as economic action, non-economic action, and labor as they exist in scientific literature. It was also required to find out the distinction between economic and non-economic action, and to describe labor as a noneconomic action. The central statement of the article is that the labor as a non-economic action is characterized by three distinctive features: 1) variety of motives; 2) variety of results; 3) acting agent should be treated as a person. Thus, a modern neoclassical view on labor activity does not allow to understand labor as a complex and various action. In neoclassical economics economic motive is still a dominating one, the results are reduced to profit, and an acting agent is an individuum. Therefore, we need an interdisciplinary theory of labor in economics to consider such aspects of labor as creativity, individuality, and diversity. Philosophy of economics tells us there is a possibility to change our view on labor through a new human model.
Publication Impact Profile
Publication details
References15
Deeson E., Collins Internet-linked Dictionary of Physics, UK, 2007;
Elger T., Labor, The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology, ed. by B.S. Turner, UK, pp 315-318, 2006;
Work, APA Dictionary of Psychology, 2nd ed., ed. by G.R. VandenBos, USA, 2015;
Labor, Economics A-Z terms. The Economist, UK, 2018, available at: https://www.economist.com/economics-a-to-z/l;
Labor, Black J., Hashimzade N., Myles G. A Dictionary of Economics.5th ed. UK, 2017;
Freeman R.B. Labour economics, The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 3rd ed., ed. by G. Jones, Palgrave Macmillan, UK, pp 7396-7402, 2018;
Becker G. Human capital, The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics, ed. By D.R. Henderson, Liberty Fund, USA, pp 248-250, 2008, available at: http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/HumanCapital.html;
Schultz Th.W. Human Capital: Policy Issues and Research Opportunities, Economic Research: Retrospect and Prospect, Vol. 6. Human Resources, pp 1-84, 1972;
Hodges D.C. Towards a Philosophy of Labor, American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Vol. 21, No. 4, pp 359-372, Oct.1962;
Arendt H. The Human Condition. 2nd ed. USA, 1998.
Smith N.H., Deranty J.-Ph. Work, recognition and the social bond: Changing paradigms, New Philosophies of Labour: Work and the Social Bond, ed. by N.H. Smith, J.-Ph. Deranty, Germany; USA, pp 1-38, 2012.
Judin G.B. “Economic” and “Social”: Autonomy of the Spheres and Disciplinary Boundaries [“Jekonomicheskoe” i “social'noe”: avtonomija sfer i disciplinarnye granicy], Voprosy Ekonomiki, No8, pp 54-71, 2010.
Swedberg R. Economic sociology, The New Blackwell Companion to Social Theory, ed. by B. S. Turner, UK, pp 360-377, 2009.
Zafirovski, M. Economic action, International Encyclopedia of Economic Sociology. Ed. by J. Beckert, M. Zafirovski. USA; Canada, pp 165-174, 2011.
Tittenbrun, J. Economic Sociology or the Economic Structure and the Non-economic Societal Structures as Conceived of by Socio-economic Structuralism, Warsaw Forum of Economic Sociology 4:2(8), Poland, pp 115-137, Autumn 2013.
View or Download full articleAccess options
SWS access login
Login as SWS Scientific CommitteeLogin as SWS Scientific PartnerLogin as SWS AuthorAuthors and approved SWS contributors will read and export their own linked papers after identity matching by SWS profile, email and SGEM GlobalID.
For librarian assistance: [email protected]
Purchase Instant Access
- Article can be downloaded after successful payment.
- Article may be used according to SWS library access terms.
- Article cannot be redistributed.
