Cognitive Labour

Abstract

This chapter explores the precariousness of contemporary labour, arguingthat it is not confined to any given social class but is instead aninherent feature of communicative capitalism. Cognitive labour marks ashift in productivity from the body to the soul of the worker,expropriating mental energies as well as putting to work thesubjectivity of the worker. It is argued that this is not confined tocreative or knowledge work but is instead identifiable in all labourthat is communicational, relational or affective. Such productivity ismost effectively mobilised by networked technologies in ways that makeit flexible, fragmented and insecure.