The work-century’s lights and shadows. A pedagogical reflection

Abstract

The almost invasive presence of themes related to work in all sectors of Italian cultural and political life, allows us to understand the versatility and complexity of the term itself. An occupation
that is not adequate for one’s life goals, or the loss of work, determines a negative spiral whose effects are manifested in all individual and social dimensions and result in a deficit of democracy. The modalities and the quality of the participation of the man in the work activity, in fact, guarantee the possibility to access the material and symbolic resources necessary to start the process of identity construction and recognition and sense of social and civil utility.
This article intends, through a pedagogical analysis of the concepts of precariousness and employability, to reflect on the development of work as an instrument of substantial democracy.