Have you ever wondered what happened to the leisure age? Why is it that with the benefits of modern technology we all have to work so hard? And what about job creation? Why would anybody want to create work?

"Job creation is one of the very few growth sectors within the modern UK economy. But what is it for? Could anybody imagine anything more pernicious than the creation of work? The more you reflect on the concept of 'job creation' the more baffling it becomes."

These are some of the myths about work explored in this book. Work has become a sacred cow of modern political life; its discussion is now hedged around with ideology. Seven Myths about Work explores this ideology and blows away many of the myths that cloud our thinking. Molly Scott Cato explores the issues of women's work, the relationship between work and wealth, the environmental impact of work as it is structured in an industrial economy, and the impact of the entrepreneur on our ideas about work.

If you are disillusioned with work, or view with horror the prospect of a life spent working, if you are tired of being made to feel guilty about not working hard enough, or not working at all, you should certainly read this excellent book.

Molly Scott Cato studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University and then took an M.Sc. in Social Research Methods. She has been an active member of the Green Party for over 10 years, chairing its Regional Council in 1993/4. She is currently Co-chair of the Green Party Regional Council.

CONTENTS:

1. Hi Ho, Hi Ho: The Myth of the Jolly Worker
2. The Myth of Job Creation
3. Work is Good for You
4. The Myth of Women's Work
5. Work Makes You Rich
6. A Job for Life
7. Working for Yourself

"This is a book without firm conclusions. Its intention is to initiate or continue a dialogue about the nature of work in a post-industrial, sustainable society. To conduct this debate in an informed way we need to have information about people's experience of work. I hope this book has blown away some of myths that have coloured your thinking about what work is for, and that you will join the debate."

"The next stage in the debate is to engage with people who have been told that morality demands that they must work and who still believe this. The Job Seekers Allowance is helping this debate forward: it is forcing people to explore their attitude work and it seems likely that more will ask the question 'Why work?' The spread of ecological consciousness is also encouraging many young people to refuse to work within an economic system which is destroying the planet."