Non-Stop Inertia argues that this appearance of restless activity conceals and indeed maintains a deep paralysis of thought and action, and that.
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Sep 09, Kim rated it liked it. Apr 13, Jeff Bursey rated it really liked it.
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A finely done and demoralizing look at work and life in an urban setting. Southwood makes the good point that the conveniences of laptops and smart phones, the ability the work away from an office or to be an entrepreneur in one's own home, simply extend the tentacles of labour into what used to be the domain of leisure. His examination of precarity - the fragile nature of jobs, primarily in the manufacturing, warehouse and service sectors - is based on his own experiences and bolstered through A finely done and demoralizing look at work and life in an urban setting.
His examination of precarity - the fragile nature of jobs, primarily in the manufacturing, warehouse and service sectors - is based on his own experiences and bolstered through the use of theories. Southwood's own experiences are more compelling.
The Oxonian Review » Non-Stop Inertia
It's a saddening read that, in the words of one friend in the retail sector who read this before me, confirms her suspicions and puts the right words on her work life. Mar 22, Ade rated it liked it. Concerns itself more with blue collar employment than white, and offers few real solutions I'm not sure that "camp" is going to be very effective in the long run , but worth a look to understand the oppressive daily grind of temporary employment and benefit claiming.
Only leaves the question of, given the author's evident academic intelligence and ability, why can he not find a gainful occupation? View all 3 comments. Very accurate about current Sweden.
And it's very very sad. May 11, Masha rated it really liked it. Ivor Southwood writes with deep intelligence--a rare thing. This book goes well with Zygmunt Bauman's books on liquid modernity and the culture of dissolve.
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Nov 15, Anna rated it really liked it. Really interesting format theory and autobiographical stories about being a temp , and will resonate with some people who are unemployed and underemployed. I do wish the author had covered neoliberalism a bit more, but overall this was a great read.
Aug 30, Heather Clitheroe rated it really liked it Shelves: Excellent work on the issue of precarity. Oct 05, Scott Goddard rated it liked it.
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This was an insightful book about the topic of work, and specifically, the nature of the 21st century labour market. Carmel rated it it was amazing Apr 30, Melanie rated it really liked it Mar 09, Daniel rated it really liked it Sep 16, Alex rated it liked it Mar 01, Robert Keegan-Walker rated it really liked it Mar 28, Elizabeth rated it really liked it Feb 04, Stephen Thingmaker rated it it was amazing Nov 14, Janusz Kania rated it really liked it Feb 04, But it seems to me that the price for all of that is a constant nagging insecurity.
The idea of precarity is this sort of machinery of anxiety. But we have to break free from this new form of imprisonment or subjugation that precarity represents. We have to not believe the myths that we are these free subjects anymore. So, precarity is insecurity and being in a precarious economic state, and, in practical terms, things like agency work, endlessly re-applying for jobs and stuff like that.
And all of that is being sold as a positive thing by people who are basically using it as a way of cutting down on labour costs.
Non Stop Inertia
Beginning with his experiences and subtly incorporating post-autonomist theorists to support his claims, Southwood produces a bleak picture of the conditions in which many of us are forced to sell our labour power. Non-Stop Inertia serves as an excellent introduction to the key concepts needed to unpack our current political economy. Notions such as precarious labour, affective or emotional production and the privatisation of unemployment are introduced and explored throughout the text. The book is littered with personal observations and a succession of stimulating yet also challenging ideas.
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Southwood deals with a complex and oft tricky topic and simultaneously avoids the dangers of over-simplification i. What emerges is a timely analysis of work in the Global North. It is surprising that this is one of the only notable introductions to precarious theories that I can think of. It diagnoses several affective elements of the managerial co-option of life. Cederstrom and Fleming argue that life in a society dominated by capitalist realism becomes one in which the divide between life and work is completely obliterated where all that remains is life-work and the wait for the approaching tsunami, for the end of capital which may very well co-arrive with the end of civilization.
Following the flood of capitalist control what remains is the affectively gray wait for the end. Both Danny and Charlie are kids the former a boy the latter a girl that have remarkable powers and star in films based on Stephen King novels. But regardless, the affective account of capital that Cederstrom and Fleming give is a convincing one. What does the worker tell us today? When the corporation has colonized life itself, even our dreams, the question of escape becomes ever more pressing, ever more desperate…. What has work done to us?