Labor Book Summaries

History The general strike – Julian Julian

Julian Symons's The General Strike: A Historical Portrait is a narrative history of the British General Strike of…

3 min read

Economics Eight Hours of Work (Osm hodin práce) – Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk

Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk's Eight Hours of Work argues for a statutory eight-hour working day as a question of…

6 min read

American History The Operation of the Illinois Child Labor Law – Jane Addams Jane Addams

Addams reported a very decided decrease in the number of children working both actually and proportionately.

19 min read

19th Century Belated Industry – Jane Addams Jane Addams

A Belated Industry is an essay by Jane Addams that examines domestic labor as an industry, distinct from…

25 min read

19th Century Some Suggestions for the Improvement of Benefit Clubs and Assurances of the Lower Class – David Ricardo David Ricardo

Ricardo argues that many benefit clubs failed because their contribution rates were not calculated on sound actuarial principles.

1 min read

Historical Fiction Prjónastofan Sólin – Halldór Laxness Halldór Laxness

The novel centers on a knitting factory in Reykjavík and the lives of the people connected to it.

5 min read

Essays Alþýðubókin / Halldór Kiljan Laxness – Halldór Laxness Halldór Laxness

Alþýðubókin is a collection of essays by the Icelandic writer Halldór Kiljan Laxness, first published in 1929.

2 min read

Economics Economic Approaches to Education and Manpower Planning – Amartya Sen Amartya Sen

A 1966 study examining how education and skilled labor supply can be analyzed through formal economic models.

4 min read

Economics The Penalties of Unemployment – Amartya Sen Amartya Sen

Unemployment carries costs beyond financial loss, including psychological harm, loss of self-respect, social exclusion, and erosion of skills.

1 min read

Anarchism Fields, Factories and Workshops – Peter Kropotkin Peter Kropotkin

The work draws upon statistical data, personal observations, and comparative international analysis to challenge prevailing assumptions about industrial.

45 min read

19th Century Fors Clavigera – John Ruskin John Ruskin

Fors Clavigera is a series of open letters written by John Ruskin, addressed 'to the workmen and labourers…

48 min read

Anarchism Syndicalism – Emma Goldman Emma Goldman

Syndicalism is an essay by Emma Goldman, the prominent Anarchist writer and activist.

15 min read