An early showing of interest in the coming Play Ethic book from the Financial Times, no less - a slot in their 'Guru of the Week' section in the FT magazine. (The writer, James Harkin, has written well on mobilisation in all its resonances, wireless or otherwise). The link is here, though you'll have to pay from Monday on. In the spirit of fair usage, I'll reproduce it below.
FT WEEKEND MAGAZINE - OF ALL THINGS:
Guru of the Week - Big Thoughts in Brief: Pat Kane
By James Harkin
Financial Times; Apr 03, 2004
For someone so keen to demolish the work ethic, Pat Kane has been hawking his ideas around with quite some industry. In recent years, this Scottish pop singer-turned-cultural commentator has taken his message about the power of play to the media, think-tanks and even the Cabinet Office, where he has been advising on creativity and human potential. Now, in The Play Ethic: A Manifesto for a Different Way of Living, he plans to convert the rest of us.
Kane says much of the work we do today is intrinsically playful. We should stop thinking of playing as a distraction and start celebrating its benefits, such as added creativity, flexibility and dynamism. We should also redefine the way we think of ourselves and label ourselves "players" not "workers". In a jittery economic climate ridden with short-term contracts, Kane says it is folly to rely on one's job for character and identity. He identifies a new type of worker - the "soulitarians", who, if and when they work, shun high salaries in favour of "meaningful" work, are keen to experiment with technology and happily flit between start-up and corporation, self-employment and job-sharing. They are capable of hard work in the right endeavour and their creativity and technological skills make them increasingly sought-after. But they are militant about putting work in its place so they can have time for travel, personal growth and new experiences.
To bring his plans to life, Kane advocates moving from a welfare system based around social security to a guaranteed citizens' income, a reduction of the working day and investment in public amenities. Once that is done, we can get down to the serious business of fooling around.
