![]() For this reason, we want to study what utopias say about work and about these types of occupations. They feel cursed, of a lower caste and without future prospects for their families. He is despised and treated as an undesirable, since he operated the recycling controls to save everyone’s lives.Īlthough this fantastic dystopian tale has several aspects relevant to labor law, we will focus on highlighting that many of the people who do undesirable jobs feel like Ragusnik, even if they are not isolated or excluded from society. The great surprise that awaits Lamorak will be that he will be retained and expelled from the asteroid. With the replacement made, the strike solved, and with Raguskik humiliated and devastated upon returning to work, the conflict is solved. Given the intransigence of both parties and the possibility of thousands of deaths, including children, and although Lamorak recognizes that Ragusnik’s request is fair, he decides to replace him at his job since he does not belong to the asteroid (he is an Earthling), and will later return to his home. No one wants to act as a strikebreaker, as he/she will be labeled and despised like Ragusnik. The situation is desperate, in a few hours the asteroid will be overwhelmed by excrement and infections, which will cause the death of almost all its 30,000 inhabitants. Ragusnik does not want that fate for his child and is on strike asking to be treated like a human being, but the rest of the inhabitants do not want to give in to his demands. Ragusnik and his son live physically and socially isolated inside the recycling facilities, not talking to anyone, they have, no friends, etc., while being rejected by all the inhabitants of Elsevere and treated as living dead. The point is that they are despised for this job, even though they do not handle the excrement as everything is automated. ![]() The person in charge of this is Ragusnik, who has inherited this task (as many previous generations) according to which his son and grandchildren and other descendants must continue. In this mini society everything is recycled, even excrement. Although everything seems perfect, a worker named Igor Raguskin is on strike. 316 The protagonist, Steven Lamorak, a sociologist by profession, travels to a small and distant asteroid in the galaxy called Elsevere to observe the social development of the colony that exists there. How are these tasks described in utopias? Who performs them? Are they dignified or are they still invisible?Ī good description of unwanted but necessary work can be found in Asimov’s story “Strikebreaker”. ![]() 315 These types of tasks are essential for society, such as collecting garbage, distributing food, physically demanding jobs, security guards’ jobs, agricultural work, domestic service, slaughterhouse work, and gravediggers, inter alia. In this essay we will focus on the work that nobody wants to do, but that is necessary and that is often invisible, 313 poorly paid and often delegated to immigrants 314 (who are exploited). and at the same time it is seen as impious and as something that subjects the worker to merciless fatigue. Work is seen as a source of pride, it is holy, it is divine, it is liberating, etc. ![]() For example, in social romanticism of the 19 th century (where work is glorified), it is compared to a prayer. In this regard, the negative aspects of work have been well portrayed in literature. Even in globalized high-tech contexts, such as Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube, where it seems that the algorithm that manages the information is almost perfect, there are jobs that are invisible and generally poorly paid. 310 However, work also entails negative aspects, such as work that is useless, poorly paid, physically demanding, etc. Looking into these challenges will help us solve the second question raised in this work: is labor law utopian?Įlster has emphasized that work is essential as a means of self-respect, a source of structure and order in everyday life, as well as a vehicle for the self-realization of human beings. Our intuition is that work in any society presents challenges that are difficult to solve, even in imagined worlds. ![]() This article is based on two fundamental questions or concerns.įirst, what do utopias say about work? To answer this question, we will review some of the most famous utopias in relation to work. ![]()
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