In his book "Work: A Deep History, from the Stone Age to the Age of Robots", anthropologist James Suzman takes readers on a sweeping journey through the history of human labor and our relationship with work. From our earliest ancestors to the modern day, Suzman explores how work has shaped our evolution, societies, and very concept of what it means to be human.
As we stand on the brink of another technological revolution with the rise of artificial intelligence and automation, many are anxious about the future of work and what it means for humanity. To understand where we might be heading, Suzman argues we need to look back at where we've come from. By examining how our ancestors lived and worked over millions of years, we can gain crucial insights into our present-day attitudes toward labor and leisure.
This book challenges many of our assumptions about work being an inherent part of the human condition. It reveals how our modern notions of productivity, scarcity, and the work ethic are relatively recent developments in human history. For the vast majority of our species' existence, we had a very different relationship with work - one that was less all-consuming and more in tune with our biological needs.
Through a blend of anthropology, history, economics, and philosophy, Suzman paints a fascinating picture of how work has evolved alongside human civilization. He takes readers from the earliest forms of life on Earth to hunter-gatherer societies, the rise of agriculture, industrialization, and beyond. Along the way, he explores how each major transition reshaped our concept of work and our social structures.
Ultimately, Suzman argues that by understanding this deep history, we can reimagine our relationship with work for a more sustainable and fulfilling future. As technology continues to reshape the nature of labor, we have an opportunity to create a healthier balance between work and leisure - if we're willing to challenge our ingrained assumptions about productivity and human value.
The Origins of Work in Life Itself
To truly understand the nature of work, Suzman argues we need to go back to the very origins of life on Earth. From a physics perspective, life itself can be seen as a form of work - the capturing and expending of energy in ways that increase entropy in the universe.
Around 3.5 billion years ago, the first single-celled bacteria emerged, deriving energy from water and rocks. This was the most basic form of work - transforming energy into chemical bonds that could then be broken down to release energy. For billions of years, this microbial "work" occurred largely in darkness.
A major revolution came about 2.7 billion years ago when some bacteria evolved the ability to photosynthesize, harnessing energy directly from sunlight. This produced oxygen as a byproduct, dramatically changing Earth's atmosphere and paving the way for more complex oxygen-breathing organisms.
The next major transition came around 700 million years ago with the evolution of the first multicellular organisms with tissues and nervous systems. These aquatic creatures transformed the nature of work by harvesting energy from other living things. The move to land by some organisms led to further transformations in how energy was captured and used.
Suzman points out that even the earliest lifeforms weren't just focused on capturing energy, but also on expending it - sometimes in seemingly wasteful or arbitrary ways. He gives the example of male black-masked weaver birds who obsessively build and destroy nests, even when no females are around to impress. Scientists believe this behavior may be a way to expend surplus energy.
This tendency to engage in "unnecessary" energy expenditure can be seen in many species, including humans. It may explain behaviors that seem irrational from a pure survival standpoint - like running ultra-marathons or tearing down perfectly good buildings to construct bigger ones. An overabundance of energy appears to drive organisms to find ways to use it up.
Tools and Human Evolution
The use of tools played a crucial role in human evolution, both physically and neurologically. Our primate ancestors began using simple stone tools over 2 million years ago. Over time, our bodies adapted to better manipulate objects - developing opposable thumbs and front-facing eyes to improve hand-eye coordination.
One of the most important and long-lasting tools in human history was the Acheulean hand-axe. This teardrop-shaped stone tool was used by our ancestor Homo erectus for over a million years across much of Africa, Europe, and Asia. Interestingly, archaeologists are still unsure exactly how it was wielded without causing injury to the user.
The process of making tools like hand-axes helped early humans develop fine motor skills and hand dexterity. But even more importantly, it drove the evolution of larger brains and more complex cognitive abilities. Learning to craft and use tools required the development of language and information processing skills.
Each evolutionary surge in brain size corresponded with an increased appetite for information in our ancestors. We developed the ability to process non-linguistic information intuitively - like navigating our environment or assessing dangerous situations. This laid the groundwork for more abstract thinking.
The most revolutionary tool in human history was undoubtedly the controlled use of fire. Learning to create and maintain fire around 400,000 years ago had profound effects on human evolution and society. Cooking food made a wider range of plants edible and meat more digestible. This allowed humans to spend less time foraging and digesting, and more time on social activities.
Fire also created the first real distinction between work time and leisure time. Gathered around the warmth and light of the campfire in the evenings, early humans had increased opportunities for social bonding, storytelling, and the development of language and culture. This ultimately accelerated our cognitive and social evolution.
The Hunter-Gatherer Work Ethic
Contrary to popular belief, evidence suggests that many hunter-gatherer societies throughout history lived relatively comfortable lives without the need for constant toil. Anthropological studies of modern hunter-gatherer groups like the Ju/'hoansi of Namibia found they only "worked" an average of 15 hours per week to meet their basic needs. This was less than half the time spent working and commuting by the average American in the 1960s.
Hunter-gatherers generally did not worry about accumulating surplus beyond their immediate needs. They would often leave fruit to rot on trees after taking what they required. There was little concept of scarcity or need to work for future benefit. Their communities tended to be egalitarian, without strict hierarchies or significant wealth differences between individuals.
This relaxed attitude toward work began to shift when some groups of Homo sapiens migrated out of Africa around 120,000 years ago. As they moved into colder climates, more work was required to survive harsh winters. For the first time, humans needed to plan ahead and store food to last through lean seasons.
Interestingly, the long winters in these new environments also created more leisure time than ever before. With outdoor activities limited, people had time to develop art, crafts, and other cultural practices. Archaeological evidence shows an explosion of decorative items and cave art dating to this period.
This marks the beginning of a new relationship with work - one focused on future benefit rather than just immediate needs. It also laid the groundwork for the development of agriculture and more complex societies. But in many ways, the hunter-gatherer work ethic - with its focus on meeting basic needs efficiently to maximize leisure time - may have been better aligned with human wellbeing than our modern obsession with productivity.
The Agricultural Revolution and Its Consequences
The transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture, beginning around 10,000 years ago, was one of the most transformative shifts in human history. It allowed for rapid population growth and the development of complex civilizations. But it also fundamentally changed how humans related to work and to each other.
Early agricultural societies like the Natufians in the Levant initially had it relatively easy. Climate changes at the end of the last ice age created lush landscapes where wild grains grew in abundance. They could simply harvest and store these without needing to actively cultivate crops.
However, as farming spread and populations grew, life became much more difficult for most early farmers compared to their hunter-gatherer ancestors. Any gains in food production were quickly absorbed by larger populations, trapping societies in what economists call the Malthusian trap - where improved productivity leads to population growth rather than improved living standards.
Farming required significantly more labor than foraging. Early farmers had to work long hours tilling fields, planting crops, and tending to domesticated animals. They also became vulnerable to crop failures and famines. Evidence of periodic population collapses can be seen in the human genome, with "genetic bottleneck" events coinciding with the spread of agriculture.
The seasonal nature of farming also changed how humans perceived and related to time. While hunter-gatherers focused on immediate needs, farmers had to plan for the future - working in the present for delayed rewards. This gave rise to new concepts like debt and credit.
Agriculture also led to increased social stratification and inequality. As surpluses could now be accumulated, some individuals and families were able to amass significantly more wealth and power than others. This laid the groundwork for more hierarchical societies and eventually the rise of states and empires.
While the agricultural revolution enabled tremendous advances in human civilization, it came at a cost of harder work, poorer nutrition, and more unequal societies for most people. This trade-off between productivity and quality of life is a recurring theme throughout the history of work.
The Birth of Money and Markets
The shift to agriculture gave rise to new economic concepts that would shape human societies for millennia to come. As farmers developed a more transactional relationship with the land - exchanging their labor for future harvests - the ideas of debt and credit emerged.
Contrary to the popular notion promoted by economist Adam Smith that money arose from barter systems, archaeological evidence suggests it originated from these early agricultural debt arrangements. The first proto-currencies appeared in Mesopotamian city-states supported by large agricultural surpluses. Clay tablets inscribed with IOUs for set amounts of silver or gold were used to track debts between temple accountants.
In pastoralist societies, cattle became the first interest-earning assets. Loaning someone livestock provided a double benefit - the animals could both produce offspring and perform work. This made them similar in some ways to the machines and robots we depend on for productivity today.
The development of currency and markets created new ways of valuing human labor. Work increasingly became associated with monetary reward rather than just immediate survival or community benefit. This shift accelerated in early cities, where increased specialization led to the emergence of distinct professions and trades.
However, the relationship between work and monetary value has not always been straightforward. Throughout history, some of the most essential types of work - like childcare or subsistence farming - have often been undervalued or not counted as "real work" in economic terms. Meanwhile, less vital but more visible or prestigious jobs have commanded high salaries.
This disconnect between the true value of work to society and its monetary compensation continues to be a source of tension in modern economies. It raises important questions about how we measure productivity and human worth in purely financial terms.
Animal Domestication and Human Enslavement
The domestication of animals was another crucial development that reshaped human labor and society. Dogs were likely the first animals domesticated, with evidence dating back over 14,000 years. They were initially valued for their hunting and guarding abilities, but quickly formed deep emotional bonds with humans.
The domestication of livestock like sheep, goats, and cattle around 10,000 years ago had an even more profound impact. These animals provided a reliable source of meat, milk, and materials like wool. But more importantly, they dramatically increased the amount of energy humans could harness for work.
Oxen could do the work of multiple men in plowing fields. Horses allowed for faster transportation of goods and people over long distances. Each new domesticated species ushered in its own mini-revolution in human productivity and social organization.
However, the ability to control and exploit animals for labor opened a dangerous precedent. As humans developed narratives to justify raising animals solely for slaughter, similar rationalizations were eventually applied to other humans. This laid the groundwork for the institution of slavery.
Ancient civilizations like Rome systematically enforced slave labor on a massive scale. At its peak, up to a third of the Roman Empire's population may have been enslaved. This system allowed elites to accumulate vast wealth while exacerbating inequality among free citizens.
The use of slave labor has been a recurring feature in many societies throughout history, justified through various cultural, religious, and pseudo-scientific arguments. It represents one of the darkest applications of humanity's drive to maximize productivity and exploit available energy sources.
While outright slavery has been largely abolished in the modern world, exploitative labor practices persist in many forms. The history of animal and human enslavement serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of valuing productivity over human dignity and ethical considerations.
The Rise of Cities and Specialized Labor
The emergence of cities marked another watershed moment in the history of work. By 2008, for the first time in human history, more people lived in urban areas than rural ones. This shift happened remarkably quickly - in China alone, 250 million people moved from the countryside to cities in the 20th century.
Early cities required access to high-yield crops and favorable geography to sustain their populations. The first urban centers arose in fertile river valleys in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. These densely populated settlements necessitated new forms of social organization and labor specialization.
Cities needed skilled workers like carpenters, stonemasons, and metalworkers to build and maintain their infrastructure. They also required systems of governance and security to manage large populations living in close quarters. This gave rise to new professions in administration, law enforcement, and the military.
Urban environments encouraged people doing similar jobs to cluster together in specific neighborhoods. Over time, these occupational communities evolved into formalized groups like castes, guilds, and trade associations. People's social identities became increasingly tied to their professions.
The complexity of urban life also spurred the development of writing systems to keep track of commercial transactions and legal codes. Many of the earliest known writing artifacts are accounting records and receipts from Mesopotamian city-states.
Cities acted as magnets, drawing people from rural areas with the promise of economic opportunity and excitement. By the second millennium CE, European cities had emerged as some of the world's most populous and prosperous urban centers. This was made possible by dramatic improvements in agricultural productivity, like the invention of the Dutch plow and better crop rotation systems.
The surpluses generated by these agricultural advancements would fuel the next great transformation in human labor - the Industrial Revolution. Cities would play a central role in this shift, serving as hubs of manufacturing and commerce that reshaped the global economy.
The Industrial Revolution and Modern Work
The Industrial Revolution, beginning in Great Britain in the mid-18th century, ushered in unprecedented changes in how humans worked and lived. Powered by innovations like the steam engine, new factories and mills dramatically increased the production of goods like textiles, sugar, and coal.
This technological shift made many traditional trades obsolete while creating demand for a new type of worker - the factory laborer. Millions of people migrated from rural areas to crowded industrial cities in search of jobs. Working conditions in early factories were often brutal, with long hours, dangerous conditions, and meager pay.
The rapid urbanization led to squalid living conditions for many workers. Between 1800 and 1850, the average height and life expectancy of British people actually declined due to poor nutrition and disease in overcrowded cities. Meanwhile, factory owners and investors amassed enormous wealth, exacerbating inequality.
Gradually, conditions began to improve for many workers. By the 1850s, wages and housing quality were rising for most urban laborers. This marked a crucial shift in how people viewed work - increasingly as a means to earn money to purchase goods, rather than directly producing things for their own use.
This consumerist mindset accelerated in the 20th century, especially after World War II. As people's basic needs were easily met, advertising stoked desires for an ever-expanding array of consumer goods. Economist John Kenneth Galbraith argued this made people less concerned about inequality, as they felt they were narrowing the gap with the wealthy by purchasing slightly better products.
For several decades, rising wages kept pace with increases in productivity and economic growth. But starting in the 1980s, wages stagnated even as productivity and corporate profits continued to climb. Meanwhile, income inequality skyrocketed, with top executives earning hundreds of times more than average workers.
The Information Age brought new changes to the nature of work. Knowledge-based jobs proliferated while manufacturing declined in developed countries. Digital technology allowed work to invade personal time, blurring the lines between professional and private life.
Today, we stand on the cusp of another technological revolution with the rise of artificial intelligence and automation. This promises to once again transform the landscape of human labor in profound and potentially disruptive ways.
Rethinking Our Relationship with Work
As we face the challenges of the 21st century - from growing inequality to looming ecological crises - Suzman argues we need to fundamentally rethink our relationship with work. Our current model, rooted in Industrial Revolution-era ideas about productivity and scarcity, may no longer be serving us well.
Throughout most of human history, work was primarily about meeting immediate needs efficiently to maximize leisure time. Hunter-gatherer societies and even early agricultural communities often had much more free time than we do today. It's only in recent centuries that work has come to dominate our lives and identities to such a degree.
The Protestant work ethic and capitalist spirit described by Max Weber elevated hard work and wealth accumulation to almost religious virtues. But this mindset has also contributed to unsustainable resource consumption, environmental degradation, and widespread burnout and mental health issues.
Suzman suggests we can learn from our ancestors' more balanced approach to work and leisure. With technological productivity constantly increasing, we have the potential to meet everyone's needs while working fewer hours. But realizing this potential requires overcoming deeply ingrained cultural attitudes about the value of work.
Some potential paths forward include:
Embracing automation to reduce necessary human labor, while implementing policies like universal basic income to ensure the benefits are widely shared.
Redefining productivity to prioritize human and ecological wellbeing over pure economic output.
Shortening the work week to allow more time for leisure, creativity, and community engagement.
Placing greater value on currently undercompensated but essential work like caregiving.
Shifting focus from consumerism and GDP growth to more holistic measures of societal progress.
Reconnecting with nature and rediscovering the satisfaction of hands-on, practical work.
Ultimately, Suzman argues that by understanding the deep history of human labor, we can reimagine a future where work enhances rather than dominates our lives. As artificial intelligence and other technologies continue to reshape the economy, we have a unique opportunity to create a healthier, more sustainable relationship with work - if we're willing to challenge our assumptions and learn from the past.
Conclusion
James Suzman's "Work" offers a sweeping and thought-provoking look at how labor has shaped human evolution, societies, and culture over millions of years. By examining how our ancestors lived and worked, from early hominids to hunter-gatherers to farmers and beyond, we gain crucial perspective on our modern attitudes toward productivity and the work ethic.
The book challenges many commonly held beliefs about work being an inherent and dominating part of the human condition. For the vast majority of our species' existence, we had a much different relationship with labor - one that was less all-consuming and more in tune with our biological needs and rhythms.
Each major transition in human history - from the discovery of fire to the rise of agriculture to the Industrial Revolution - reshaped how we work and relate to each other. Often, increases in productivity came at the cost of more demanding labor and greater inequality. Today, we find ourselves at another inflection point as artificial intelligence and automation promise to transform the nature of work once again.
Suzman argues that by understanding this deep history, we can reimagine our relationship with work for a more sustainable and fulfilling future. As technology continues to boost productivity, we have the potential to dramatically reduce necessary labor time and create a healthier balance between work and leisure. But achieving this requires overcoming deeply ingrained cultural attitudes about productivity and human value.
The book leaves readers with important questions to ponder: How much of our current work is truly necessary for human flourishing? What would society look like if we worked primarily to meet real needs rather than manufactured wants? How can we ensure the benefits of automation are widely shared rather than concentrating wealth in the hands of a few?
By expanding our perspective beyond recent history, "Work" provides valuable insights for navigating the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century economy. It suggests that rather than fearing the "end of work," we should embrace the possibility of transcending outdated notions of productivity to create lives with greater meaning, creativity, and connection.
As we stand at a crossroads, with technology reshaping the economy and ecological pressures mounting, Suzman's exploration of our species' relationship with work offers an important foundation for imagining a better future. By learning from the past, we may find ways to rebalance our lives and build more sustainable and equitable societies.