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A Working Democracy: Jane Addams on the Meaning of Work

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 August 2013

Joel Winkelman
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Abstract

By exploring Addams's lifelong fascination with work, this essay analyzes the ways in which her understanding of work fundamentally shaped her wider political vision. For Addams, work was the foundation of not only a personal sense of identity, but also a collective democratic character. The workplace had the potential to be the model of a cooperative community, providing a venue for social solidarity and civic reciprocity. By working together, Americans would develop a more cosmopolitan and inclusive politics. In short, the essay argues that Addams's political thought was an attempt to revitalize democracy by giving meaning to work. It concludes by suggesting that her arguments can be applied to many contemporary political problems, and that today's democratic theory and practice would be enlivened by a renewed attention to work.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Review of Politics , Volume 75 , Issue 3 , Summer 2013 , pp. 357 - 382
Copyright
Copyright © University of Notre Dame 2013 

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References

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94 Ibid., 67.

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