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Escaping the Fantasy Land of Freedom in Organizations: The Contribution of Hannah Arendt

Author

Listed:
  • Yuliya Shymko

    (Audencia Business School)

  • Sandrine Frémeaux

    (Audencia Business School
    Department of Management)

Abstract

This article examines why and how workers adhere and contribute to the perpetuation of the freedom fantasy induced by neoliberal ideology. We turn to Hannah Arendt’s analysis of the human condition, which offers invaluable insights into the mechanisms that foster the erosion of human freedom in the workplace. Embracing an Arendtian lens, we demonstrate that individuals become entrapped in a libertarian fantasy—a condition enacted by the replacement of the freedom to act by the freedom to perform. The latter embodies the survivalist modus operandi of animal laborans (1) who renounces singularity, by focusing on the function of supervised labor, (2) who renounces solidarity, by focusing on individualist and competitive labor, and (3) who is deprived of spontaneity, by focusing on the measured productivity of labor. Therefore, we propose a new corporate governance perspective based on the rehabilitation of political action in organizations as the best way to preserve human capacity for singularity, solidarity, and spontaneity.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuliya Shymko & Sandrine Frémeaux, 2022. "Escaping the Fantasy Land of Freedom in Organizations: The Contribution of Hannah Arendt," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 176(2), pages 213-226, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:176:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-020-04707-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-020-04707-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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