The book Utopias and Work, edited by Mariagrazia Cairo Crocco, Enrico Donaggio and Nadine Richez-Battesti of the ArTLib collective, was published by TeseoPress in October 2026.
Introduction
Whether abstract or concrete, utopias are based, first and foremost, on a critique of a world that has become intolerable. They express a desire to live, think and act differently, and an emancipatory drive aimed at creating the conditions for a better life.
Work plays a central role in both narratives and utopian experiments. Both explore ways of working that are more fulfilling. Work is viewed positively in these contexts insofar as it is meaningful to those who carry it out. It is also reduced, varied and flexible, and carried out under sustainable conditions. Can we devise a different division of labour and free ourselves from social distinctions based on gender, class or race? How can we reduce and better distribute the burden of demanding and unrewarding labour? How can we overcome internal conflicts and cope with external constraints? And, more generally, how can we move from concrete local utopias towards a broader transformation of work and society?
All these questions lie at the heart of this book, which presents the latest thinking and research from the international and interdisciplinary ArTLib collective and from the experts on utopian visions of labour who have written the contributions brought together here.
About the authors
Mariagrazia Cairo Crocco is a senior lecturer in philosophy at Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, CGGG and the Gilles Gaston Granger Centre.
Enrico Donaggiois a professor of philosophy at Aix Marseille Université. He is the scientific director of the Institute for Advanced Studies (Iméra), where he coordinates the Work and Freedom Research Workshop (ArTLib).
Nadine Richez-Battesti is a senior lecturer in economics at Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, LEST, and the Laboratory of Economics and Sociology of Work.
With the participation of: Blaise Barbance, Isabelle Berrebi-Hoffmann, Thierry Berthet, Mariagrazia Cairo Crocco, Antonio Casilli, Mathilde Chénin, Anne-Marie Daune-Richard, Enrico Donaggio, Olivia Foli, Michel Lallement, Christophe Massot, Thierry Paquot, Nadine Richez-Battesti, José Rose.
