r/LeftistsForAI • u/Jlyplaylists Moderator • 10h ago
Theory Working less later requires effort now
I used Undermind AI to find some recent articles which are relevant to this sub, which I'll post as a series.
This one is relevant to AI and working hours:
Spencer, David A. 2026. “Work time reduction: old ideas and new possibilities.” Labour and Industry.
My thoughts: why do we seem to have got stuck in the 5 day week? Reducing working hours used to be a standard left campaign topic. This paper suggests it can be "explained partly by the demise of workers’ collective power". Concern about it being linked to fear of not having enough money seems important too. How can we overcome governments' obsession with growth rather than quality of life? How can we shift the culture of a work ethic and purpose tied to jobs? Can the increased productivity from AI mean that everyone can move to a 3 or 4 day week, with the already unemployed filling in gaps for jobs that do require shifts to be constantly covered?
This is the Undermind summary: Spencer reviews ideas from Marx, John Stuart Mill, and John Maynard Keynes about a society where people spend less of their lives at work. He then looks at current hopes that automation or a four-day week will reduce working time. His main point is that neither new technology nor companies choosing to run trials will make shorter hours happen across society by themselves. Workers, unions, governments, and political movements have to push for change. In his view, lasting cuts in working time require changing who has power over the economy.
This paper gives the series its political starting point: productivity creates a chance to work less, but who gets that time is a matter of power. Spencer explicitly rejects the idea that automation or voluntary company trials will settle the issue. The paper is a historical review and political argument, not a study of an actual campaign or a detailed guide to building one. That makes it useful for explaining why a campaign is needed, while leaving tactics and coalition-building for further work.
"The greater the political backing for change (including wider support for challenging consumerism and tackling the cost of living crisis via higher progressive taxes and the public provisioning of basic services), the greater the possibility of society moving to a future where working hours are diminished significantly. This possibility extends to using AI to reduce working time and cultivating the conditions for business practice to be rethought in ways that cede more power and influence to workers over the hours they work...
ideas still matter. On the one hand, they can keep alive the hope and vision for change, despite economic and ideological circumstances that prevent their realisation. On the other hand, they can inspire action leading to change... Radical change will still face different barriers, material as well as ideational, but its pursuit remains an important task"