The Concept of Work: Historical Perspective

Abstract

Beginning with the acknowledgement of the significance of work in the history of humankind, this article explains the ways work has been conceived from the profound transformation of peasant societies to the slightly industrialized cities with which the Middle Ages ended, marking the start of Modernity. It explores the historical milestone of the discovery of America with the enormous contrasts between an advanced society and certain indigenous groups with their ancestral knowledge typical of their native cultures, which were slowly forced to adapt their knowledge to that of their colonizers and in some cases conquerors. It goes on exploring the contemporary thought in which intellectual work acquires a particular strength and social value and, lastly, it explains the concept of work in Latin America until the end of the 20th century.