There was once a time when 'work' was inextricably linked to survival. But what was once an integral part of life has slowly morphed into a painful and meaningless routine, colonising almost every part of our lives. As our society is transformed into a factory that never sleeps, work becomes a universal reference point for everything else, devoid of moral or social worth. Blending theory with accounts of job-related suicides, office-induced paranoia, fear of relaxation, managerial sadism and cynical corporate social responsibility campaigns, Fleming provides a damning report on the way work consumes our lives in modern capitalist society. -- from back cover.

"This new edition of MYTHOLOGIES is the first complete, authoritative English version of the French classic, Roland Barthes's most emblematic work"--

WORKING HARDER IS FAILING YOU Entrepreneurs are working harder than ever, with almost half working 50 hours a week or more, swapping quality time with our families for long hours in our offices. The problem is, it isn't working. Despite the sacrifices, less than a third of businesses started today will survive long enough to see their 10th birthday. In The Hard Work Myth, you'll discover why working harder is a waste of time and learn the simple but high impact techniques used by some of the world's most successful entrepreneurs to achieve more, without working harder About the author: Barnaby Lashbrooke is on a mission to destroy the myth that working hard is the key to success. Why? Barnaby has built two multi-million dollar businesses, with more than $32 million in total sales, all whilst working less than 35 hours per week and he believes if he can to it, you can too.

This is the first critical account of the internationally renowned Mondragon cooperatives of the Basque region of Spain. The Mondragon cooperatives are seen as the leading alternative model to standard industrial organization; they are considered to be the most successful example of democratic decision making and worker ownership. However, the author argues that the vast scholarly and popular literature on Mondragon idealizes the cooperatives by falsely portraying them as apolitical institutions and by ignoring the experiences of shop floor workers. She shows how this creation of an idealized image of the cooperatives is part of a new global ideology that promotes cooperative labor-management relations in order to discredit labor unions and working-class organizations; this constitutes what she calls the "myth" of Mondragon.

For neoclassical economists, Homo economicus, or economic human, represents the ideal employee: an energetic worker bee that is a rational yet competitive decision-maker. Alternatively, one could view the concept as a cold and selfish workaholic endlessly seeking the accumulation of money and advancement--a chilling representation of capitalism. Or perhaps, as Peter Fleming argues, Homo economicus does not actually exist at all. In The Death of Homo Economicus, Fleming presents this controversial claim with the same fierce logic and perception that launched his Guardian column into popularity. Fleming argues that as an invented model of a human being, Homo economicus is, in reality, a tool used by economists and capitalists to manage our social world through the state, business, and even family. As workers, we are barraged with constant reminders that we should always strive toward this ideal persona. It's implied--and sometimes directly stated--that if we don't then we are failures. Ironically, the people most often encouraged to emulate this model are those most predisposed to fail due to their socioeconomic circumstances: the poor, the unemployed, students, and prisoners. Fleming illuminates why a peculiar proactive negativity now marks everyday life in capitalist societies, and he explores how this warped, unattainable model for workers would cause chaos if enacted to the letter. Timely and revelatory, The Death of Homo Economicus offers a sharp, scathing critique of who we are supposed to be in the workplace and beyond.