In this essay, I analyze the normative problems that Honneth, in his latest book Der arbeitende Souverän, identifies in today’s sphere of work. After outlining and highlighting the positive elements of Honneth’s conception (1), I draw attention to what I consider an excess of formality in the way he enunciates the objectives of his normative theory of work, as well as to the indeterminacy of the interventions needed to pursue these objectives (2). Then, I consider the diagnosis that Honneth draws about the state of protests and social struggles in the current sphere of labor (3): it is here, in my view, that we can discern the origin of the problems encountered; I therefore advance the hypothesis that a different interpretation about the current state of social protests would allow the formulation of more determinate normative measures.
