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About
In a series of illuminating essays, the renowned Harry Glasbeek unpacks how law has been used to ensure that workers' aspirations are kept in check. Law at Work uncovers how the legal system, through its structures and mechanisms, legitimizes and reinforces the exploitation of workers. Using historic and contemporary examples, Glasbeek illustrates how conscious manipulations of law are part and parcel of how law protects capitalists at the expense of workers. He proves how the very laws designed to safeguard rights and freedoms often act as invisible shackles, compelling readers to reflect on their own struggles as they navigate a world where the legal system fails to serve their interests. These manipulations are made to look innocent because the underlying structures and ideology which give rise to specific rules are not challenged or challengeable. This thought-provoking book is an indispensable resource for those seeking to understand the hidden dynamics of worker oppression, empowering readers to question prevailing narratives and envision a future where the law truly serves the interests of all. The law isn't broken. It was built this way.
"Harry Glasbeek masterfully unmasks the hidden assumptions that inform the law at work, revealing law's role in justifying and operationalizing employer superiority. Law at Work is driven by a passionate demand for human emancipation and a rigorous demonstration of why that is not possible under capitalism. Even if you think you understand labour law, you don't until you've read this book."
"Harry Glasbeek reveals how the legal system-meant to protect-paradoxically reinforces the exploitation of workers. Law at Work is a compelling read that challenges us to reconsider the emancipatory potential of the law for workers and their unions."
"Harry Glasbeek is a passionate public intellectual, deeply committed to sharing all that he knows. And he knows a lot-especially about the class bias buried deep within our labour laws. Glasbeek's insights in Law at Work match everything I've experienced over decades of union work. He's also an utterly readable writer, using wit and understatements that make you laugh out loud, even as you shudder."
"In Law at Work, Harry Glasbeek reveals how the law's claims to equality and justice obscure how legal rules and institutions are tilted to help the few at the expense of the many. Glasbeek vividly shows how instead of promoting workers' freedom, the employment contract-one of capitalism's foundational legal devices-cultivates workers' subordination. Drawing on his encyclopedic knowledge of labour law and history, Law at Work offers a compelling, erudite, and energetic explanation of how labour law restricts workers' power and hinders our collective ability to imagine democracy and freedom at work."
"Harry Glasbeek's meticulous historical account of the law's complicity in capital's systematic exploitation of working people is compelling. Law at Work is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the dynamics of global labour markets and the way in which our legal systems-the common law judges as well as statutory law-have contributed to the persistence of deep inequalities in contemporary societies. Glasbeek has a unique talent in pursuing his robustly scholarly argument in the most accessible prose."
"Why are workers killed or maimed at work but not employers? From the fourteenth century to the COVID-19 pandemic, Law at Work covers the gamut of dangers workers have faced in the workplace. Harry Glasbeek explains how the common law of torts, the judiciary, and statutory laws have served the interests of capitalists and capitalism against the interests of workers. Using sardonic wit, insightful analysis, and an entertaining style, Glasbeek challenges the conventional wisdom that the law treats all fairly and that justice can be achieved through the courts."
"Harry Glasbeek masterfully unmasks the hidden assumptions that inform the law at work, revealing law's role in justifying and operationalizing employer superiority. Law at Work is driven by a passionate demand for human emancipation and a rigorous demonstration of why that is not possible under capitalism. Even if you think you understand labour law, you don't until you've read this book."
"Harry Glasbeek reveals how the legal system-meant to protect-paradoxically reinforces the exploitation of workers. Law at Work is a compelling read that challenges us to reconsider the emancipatory potential of the law for workers and their unions."
"Harry Glasbeek is a passionate public intellectual, deeply committed to sharing all that he knows. And he knows a lot-especially about the class bias buried deep within our labour laws. Glasbeek's insights in Law at Work match everything I've experienced over decades of union work. He's also an utterly readable writer, using wit and understatements that make you laugh out loud, even as you shudder."
"In Law at Work, Harry Glasbeek reveals how the law's claims to equality and justice obscure how legal rules and institutions are tilted to help the few at the expense of the many. Glasbeek vividly shows how instead of promoting workers' freedom, the employment contract-one of capitalism's foundational legal devices-cultivates workers' subordination. Drawing on his encyclopedic knowledge of labour law and history, Law at Work offers a compelling, erudite, and energetic explanation of how labour law restricts workers' power and hinders our collective ability to imagine democracy and freedom at work."
"Harry Glasbeek's meticulous historical account of the law's complicity in capital's systematic exploitation of working people is compelling. Law at Work is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the dynamics of global labour markets and the way in which our legal systems-the common law judges as well as statutory law-have contributed to the persistence of deep inequalities in contemporary societies. Glasbeek has a unique talent in pursuing his robustly scholarly argument in the most accessible prose."
"Why are workers killed or maimed at work but not employers? From the fourteenth century to the COVID-19 pandemic, Law at Work covers the gamut of dangers workers have faced in the workplace. Harry Glasbeek explains how the common law of torts, the judiciary, and statutory laws have served the interests of capitalists and capitalism against the interests of workers. Using sardonic wit, insightful analysis, and an entertaining style, Glasbeek challenges the conventional wisdom that the law treats all fairly and that justice can be achieved through the courts."