Freedom at, through and from work: Rethinking labour rights

To what extent do labour rights promote freedom in relation to work? Methodologically, the article defines three freedoms: ‘freedom at work’, ‘freedom through work’, and ‘freedom from work’. It shows that fundamental labour rights have traditionally aimed at protecting workers in the labour market, not at expanding freedoms and in particular freedom ‘from’ work. In this respect, it outlines some limits of current proposals relying on productivity and redistribution, such as the basic income, to liberate from work. Beyond these proposals, the article develops new rights in the human economy framework. The article concludes that, in order to expand freedoms in relation to work, not fewer but more fundamental labour rights will be required