Immaterial Labor

Abstract Immaterial labor refers to those forms of work that produce immaterial goods such as communication, information, management, and cultural products. It is seen as the dominant form of labor in postindustrial societies, in which a transition took place from an industrial economy to a service economy (Bell 1973). Although the term may suggest otherwise, immaterial labor does not imply that all forms of labor are becoming immaterial or that there are no longer industrial forms of labor. All labor is material to some extent and there is still plenty of hard labor and industrial production (agriculture, mining, and production of cars and other goods). The dominance of immaterial implies, however, that all of these branches of hard labor are restructured by the immaterial practices of communication and management, which are becoming increasingly important in all production sectors. Communication and management are thus becoming the nexus of the economic system.