Labor is not a Commodity!

Contents

Acknowledgements 7

Preface 9

1.Introduction: Theory and Methods

1.1.The Polanyian Revival 18

1.2.The Conceptual Toolbox 21

1.3.The Comparative Approach 28

1.4.The Text Corpus38

1.5.The State of Research 40

2.Market: The Commodification of Work and the Birth of Organized Labor

2.1.The Rise of a Free Labor Market 45

2.2.Organized Labor in Berlin in the 1860s and early 1870s 55

2.3.Organized Labor in New York in the 1860s and early 1870s 67

3.Polity: Shorter Hours and the Struggle for Equality

3.1.The Movement for Shorter Hours in New York 79

3.2.The Movement for Shorter Hours in Berlin 88

3.3.Chapter Conclusion 101

4.Society: Shorter Hours and the Struggle for Human Rights

4.1.Commodification as Dehumanization 109

4.2.De-Commodification as Counter-Hegemony 121

4.3.Chapter Conclusion 130

5.Economy: Shorter Hours and the Struggle for Redistribution

5.1.The Political Economy of Shorter Hours 135

5.2.The Decline of the Concept of Commodification 141

5.3.Chapter Conclusion 158

6.Gender: Shorter Hours and the Protection of Female Labor

6.1.Women's Work 165

6.2.Protecting Female Labor 176

6.3.Chapter Conclusion 196

7.Conclusion: The Past and Present of Commodification 202

Abbreviations 211

Bibliography 212

Index of Subjects 234

Index of Persons 236

Philipp Reick ist Fellow der Martin Buber Society an der Hebrew University in Jerusalem.