Property in Labour and the Limits of Contract

Resource type
Author/contributor
Title
Property in Labour and the Limits of Contract
Abstract
As has long been recognized, the contract of employment depends on the commodification of labour power. Notwithstanding debates amongst political theorists and trade union activists about whether individuals should be viewed as self-owners, and whether it is possible to sell one’s capabilities without selling one’s self, the law does treat labour power as a commodity. There has been little research on the ways in which the law does so, however, for the simple reason that self-ownership of one’s laboring capacities is often taken as fact, as the starting premise for analysis, and treated as a necessary pre-condition for individual self-realization through contract. Moreover, proprietary and contractual forms of regulating work are often presented as diametrically opposed: a proprietary method of labour regulation is said to create a relationship of slavery, while contract is presented as an institution of choice.
Genre
SSRN Scholarly Paper
Archive ID
2468572
Place
Rochester, NY
Date
2014-07-14
Accessed
9/29/23, 4:45 PM
Language
en
Library Catalog
Social Science Research Network
Citation
Mumme, C. (2014). Property in Labour and the Limits of Contract (SSRN Scholarly Paper 2468572). https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=2468572
Author / Editor