SOCIETIES WITH AND SOCIETIES WITHOUT THE CONCEPT OF WORK

The category of work cannot easily be transposed to all other human so cieties. Depending on the society, this concept seems to be lacking, t o be split up among many other categories, or to have variable content s. The antitheses of work are also quite varied. However our impressio ns change whenever, instead of starting out with the concept of work a s we define it, native categories are examined. Questions thus arise a bout this concept's status: is it the universal category it is thought to be, or is it an ethnocentric notion? These doubts shed new light o n questions such as the hardship of work, the value assigned to human activities, and work in relation to social statuses.