Attività informale e crisi del paradigma del lavoro nel Sud e nel Nord

Informal activity and the crisis of the paradigm of work in the South and North of the world The crisis of work is inscribed in the so-called work paradigm, which is the contradictory connection between an emancipatory imaginary (that of homo faber) and an enslaving reality (that of wage-labour alienation). However, this paradigm has failed in the South of the world, as the diffusion of the so-called informal work shows: in fact, not only such a work is far from being a mere atypical economic activity without its own logic, but it also checkmates economic and Western rationality. Furthermore, this crisis is occurring in the North of the world as well, where several alternatives to the market are growing, which are based on the logic of the gift and relational strategies. Nonetheless, both individuals and society 192 Paradigmi. Rivista di critica filosofica need to avoid the schizophrenia arising from the fact that any alternative to the market is considered as complementary and at the same time subordinate to the market itself. In order to reach this goal, it is necessary to get rid from the idea of a unique world and a unique thought.;

Serge Latouche, Attività informale e crisi del paradigma del lavoro nel Sud e nel Nord in "PARADIGMI" 1/2008, pp 53-69, DOI: