Labor Law as a Base for Firms' Organization

In: Historical Social Research, Band 44, Heft 1, S. 212-230

Abstract

This contribution explores the relation between labor law and organizations in a historical and institutional perspective based on the French case. The adoption of labor law transforms the articulation between commodity exchanges and production activities. Initially, commodity markets were considered as the main test for the capacity of products to find a social utility that conditioned the level of production activities taken in charge by contractors. Labor law has contributed to a renewed conception of production as organized labor, i.e., a specific activity distinct from the other activities of individuals (e.g., family life, leisure). Recruitment and career opportunities become the main test situation for individuals, conditioning their access to occupations and resources for buying the very commodities they make. But, the renewal of corporate governance is undermining this organizational significance of labor law and valuing restructuring, lay-offs, and entrepreneurship, in order to restore market mechanisms.