The Working Sovereign

‘In our age of political polarization and rising authoritarianism, Axel Honneth makes a powerful and original case for re-centring work as a site for the development of the skills, motivations and broader sympathies needed to revitalize democracy. Empowering workers in cooperative settings, enriching workers’ experience of work and enhancing the respect accorded to all occupations are vital tasks not only for improving workers’ individual lives but for deepening democratic possibilities.’
Elizabeth Anderson, University of Michigan

‘The now copious literature on the crisis of democracy is very attentive to the political processes of deliberation and largely inattentive to the relationship between the growth of poverty and the shift from stable employment to the normalization of precarious labour relations. Bringing labour back to the centre of democracy is the valuable contribution of this illuminating book, which reminds us that democratic citizens are workers and that there is a mutual dependence between democratic participation and sufficiently good working conditions.’
Nadia Urbinati, Columbia University

‘With characteristic intellectual rigour, Axel Honneth revives the critical importance of work for democracy. His persuasive arguments for the kind of work able to sustain democratic systems are fresh and urgent. Essential reading for anyone concerned with how the future of work impacts the future of democracy.’
Ruth Yeoman, Kellogg College, University of Oxford

‘By resuming reflection on the relationship between democratic demand and fairness in labour relations, Axel Honneth is not only breathing new life into a critique of capitalism which seemed out of breath: he also renews the moral and social foundations on which a progressive politics can be reconstructed. An essential book for our time.’
Luc Boltanski, Ecole des hautes etudes en sciences sociales, Paris

“A thoughtfully constructed argument in favor of work worth doing, and of workers treated as human beings.”
Kirkus Reviews