Transforming Work, Transforming the Economy?<br> A Labour Geography Perspective

Work is an integral part of both current economic arrangements and everyday life. Yet, similar to natural resources, a commodification and exploitation of labour in the relentless pursuit of economic growth can be witnessed. In contrast to natural resources, however, workers are not passive commodities, but have agency — the basic premise of a labour geography perspective. The research focus here is mainly on institutionalised forms of labour organisations as well as impacts on labour under the current economic structures. Complementary, various transformative economic approaches were analysed from a geographical perspective – yet, without a focus on labour.
The presented project concentrates on working people as shapers of their economic environments. For this purpose, cases of enterprises owned and managed by the workers can be deemed an interesting example. The analysis of spatial conditions as well as potential spatial effects of such enterprises can supplement existing insights from socio-economic perspectives. A further aim is to expand the horizon of the imaginable with practical knowledge from already existing transformative models of work.

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