Andre Gorz on the Immaterial

* Book: Andre Gorz. L'Immateriel.

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An attempt to understand the era of 'cognitive capitalism', by one of the pre-eminent ecological thinkers in France.

Summary

From the reading notes of Michel Bauwens, 2005:

"Gorz distinguishes, following Husserl, 'lived experience', i.e. the pre-cognitive direct intuition of the lifeworld, from, 'knowledge about objects', which is socially validated through institutional learning. A society must be judged by how it uses the latter to enhance the former, i.e. the quality of life. These ideas were influential on the environmental movement, which should also be seen as a defense against the appropriation of the lifeworld, and not as a mere defense of 'nature'.

Gorz also distinguishes the logic of capital from the logic of science, they are both separate even though allied; he sees transhumanism, i.e. the desire for the full liberation from the limitations of the human and nature, as the ultimate essence of the logic of science.

He references Sloterdijk's distinction of auto-technics, for self-production, from hetero-technics, change imposed from the outside; as well as Illich, who distinguished convivial tools, those that do not program their users, while heteronomous tools do program and determine their users. Sloterdijk had argued that in the 'era of matter', the relation was one of dominance, nature had to be 'raped' as it were, and humanity used these allo-technologies. Now, in the 'informational era', we know that matter contains information, with an inherent potential. Thus, there is potential to switch to 'homeo-technologies', based on cooperation with nature. However, it is clear that the techno-scientific mentalities have not changed yet."

I. Immaterial Work

Knowledge is becoming a crucial production factor, but Gorz insists it is not just formal knowledge, but also passion, creativity, expression, engagement, qualities which are 'beyond measure'. Abstract labour is no longer the determinant, though industrial modes are still co-existing along with the newly emergent.

Here are 3 quotes that set the tone about the changes in work culture and management styles:

- “Le travailleur ne se présente plus comme possesseur de sa seule force de travail hetero-produite (ca.d. des capacités inculquées par l’employeur, mais comme s'étant produit et continuant à se produire lui-même." (Yann-Moulier Boutang, cited by Gorz, p. 18)

- “Ce ne sont pas les individus qui, intériorisant la ‘culture d'entreprise', c’est plutôt l’entreprise qui va désormais chercher à l'extérieur, c.a.d. au niveau de la vie quotidienne de chacun, les compétences et les capacités dont elle a besoin.” (M. Combes & B. Aspe, Alice #1, 1988, cited by Gorz, p. 19)

- “En devenant la base d’une production fondée sur l’innovation, la communication et l’improvisation continuelles, le travail immatériel tend finanlement a se confondre avec un travail de production.” (Gorz, p. 20)

Work has become the management of a flux of information and productivity is therefore no longer measured in time spent but in overall coordination and the capacity of the nodes to communicate. Fordist workers were requested to loose their previous knowledge; postfordist workers are hired for their general intellect and capacity for expressive/cooperative work. Required then were 'objective' 'machines', while today full subjectivities are demanded.

The new postfordist workers produce themselves through subjectivation of the collective inheritance of common culture.

The detailed and hierarchical division of labour is virtually abolished in networked work, and the means of production become collective through the use of the computer as a universal tool. Nevertheless, because self-production is subsumed to capital, but not totally, the worker retains a private sphere. Thus to obtain total mastery of such workers, this sphere has to abolished: everyone has to become self-entrepreneur, responsible for their own human capital and its continuous renewal. Hence capital wants to abolish the salary, and replace it with marketable services where individuals compete against one another.