Activity Quote by Bob Black
![“... the place where [adults] pass the most time and submit to the closest control is at work. Thus, without even entering into the question of the world economy's ultimate dictation within narrow limits of everybody's productive activity, it's apparent that the source of the greatest direct duress…” quote by Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/7ec/bob-black-24650_activity_the-place-where-adults-pass-the-most-tim_2433607.jpg)
“... the place where [adults] pass the most time and submit to the closest control is at work. Thus, without even entering into the question of the world economy's ultimate dictation within narrow limits of everybody's productive activity, it's apparent that the source of the greatest direct duress experienced by the ordinary adult is _not_ the state but rather the business that employs him. Your foreman or supervisor gives you more or-else orders in a week than the police do in a decade.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: 1985 “The Abolition of Work”, critiquing workplace control
Workplaces impose intense, constant control on adults, causing more stress than state authority, making employment the primary source of duress
In simple terms: Jobs can be more oppressive than government control
Key Takeaway
Question the structures that give employers excessive power
Themes
work
control
stress
Mood
critical
provocative
Type
sociological
philosophical
When to use this quote
- corporate management
- employee rights
- workplace reform
Key Concepts
critical theory
labor studies
Questions to Reflect On
- How can workers effectively challenge excessive managerial control?
- What alternatives exist to traditional employment models?
A Different Perspective
Changing workplace culture is complex and may face resistance from entrenched interests
![“[The married woman is] is a bonded slave, who takes her master's name, her master's bread, and serves her master's passion; [and] who passes through the ordeal of pregnancy and the throes of travail at his dictation.” quote by Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c98/voltairine-de-cleyre-13597_bread_the-married-woman-is-is-a-bonded-slave-w_893588.jpg)
![“[Libertarians] don't denounce what the state does, they just object to who's doing it. This is why the people most victimized by the state display the least interest in libertarianism. Those on the receiving end of coercion don't quibble over their coercers' credentials. If you can't pay or don't…” quote by Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/af3/bob-black-24650_care_libertarians-don-t-denounce-what-the-sta_1854836.jpg)
