Scenarios of the future of work designed by capitalism

critical analysis of mainstream futurology

Abstract

This article discusses the future of work from a discursive, cultural and critical perspective. We analyze the report “Workforce of the future: the competing forces shaping 2030”, signed by one of the world's largest business consultancies, PwC. Our aim is to understand the meanings of work and the ideological elements that make up the projections of the future published in the document. Carrico (2013) defines “mainstream futurology” as the ideologically marked discourses of the reports, research and white papers of large capitalist corporations. We understand these discourses as expressions of the capitalism of our time. The methodology is based on the social discourse approach (Angenot) and neoliberal discourse analysis (Guilbert). Through the analyses, we identified the design of the future of work derived from capitalist rationality, technological determinism and the organizational vision transformed into a social scenario, concealing the possibilities of imagination and the construction of other possible worlds.