Freie Zeit

"The realm of freedom actually begins only where labour which is determined by necessity and mundane considerations ceases" - Karl Marx once said. And today? Despite extensive automatisation, the norm of full-time work remains. The motto "social is what creates work" is supported by almost all political actors. At the same time, the previous form of a full-time working society is becoming more fragile and unequal: the care crisis, the gender pay gap, precarious jobs or unregulated crowdwork on digital platforms reveal just a few of the many yield lines. Considering the history of political ideas on free time and the current debates on automatisation and digitalisation, Gregor Ritschel drafts a plea for a gradual exit from the previous working society into a "multi-activity society" (André Gorz). He reveals that shortening working hours can enable us to create a more social, more creative and also more environmentally friendly world.

Gregor Ritschel (Dr. phil.), geb. 1985,ist wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter am Zentrum für Lehrerinnenbildung und Schulforschung an derUniversität Leipzig. Er studierte Politikwissenschaft, Ethnologie und Zeitgeschichte und lehrte Politische Theorie und Ideengeschichte an der Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg. Als Redakteur der Zeitschrift 'Berliner Debatte Initial' hat er mehrere Hefte zum Themenkomplex Gesellschaft und Digitalisierung mitherausgegeben.