Meaningful Work
Andrea Veltman
Reviews and Awards
"Andrea Veltman presents a welcome and engaging argument for the importance of meaningful work in human lives." -- Ruth Yeoman, Australasian Journal of Philosophy
"In this elegantly written book, Veltman argues that meaningful work is an essential human good and, as such, is necessary for a flourishing life. Her arguments about the centrality of meaningful work are compelling." -- Adrian Walsh, University of New England, Australia, Ethics
"Meaningful Work carves out a new direction in liberal political theory and makes for essential reading in a business ethics seminar for undergraduates as well as graduate students. It develops a cogent defense of a eudaimonic capabilities approach by analyzing diverse workplaces and providing a novel feminist contribution to care ethics." -- Mechthild Nagel, Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy
"Looking to contemporary figures like Susan Wolf and ancient ones like Aristotle, Veltman constructs a multidimensional and pluralistic account of meaningful work." -- Russell Muirhead, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
"Andrea Veltman's Meaningful Work raises the bar for all future contributions to this topic: she marshals overwhelming evidence that work is central to human flourishing and demolishes the popular view that our need for work that is meaningful is just one preference among others." -- Paul Gomberg, University of California, Davis
"What is the normative status of work? In this elegantly written, powerfully argued book, Andrea Veltman rejects the answer of mainstream political theory that meaningful work is merely one optional value among others. The right way of thinking about meaningful work, Veltman argues, is as a good that is central to human flourishing. She mounts a compelling case for this conception and draws out its far reaching consequences for questions of autonomy and justice. The result is a major contribution to political philosophy that should be essential reading for political theorists, applied ethicists, and indeed anyone concerned by the quality of work and possibilities for improving it."-- Nicholas Smith, Macquarie University
"Meaningful Work contributes to a growing literature on work in philosophy and political theory...Written in unpretentious style, the book or a chapter will be an excellent addition to an undergraduate or a graduate syllabus...Summing up: Highly recommended." --CHOICE