Lavoro totalitario e libertà dell'azione. La teoria del lavoro di Hannah Arendt tra Marx e Heidegger

This article focuses on Hannah Arendt's theory of work, reconstructed within the development of her thought. The assumption of this analysis is that Arendt's theory of work, formulated in open contrast to Marx, is on the one hand an integral part of studies on totalitarianism, and on the other hand indebted to Heidegger's critique of modernity. Firstly, an interpretation of Arendt's conception of work will be proposed as closely connected to the condition of ‘bare life’, which Arendt attributes to stateless persons and concentration camp internees. Secondly, the difference between work and labor, developed in The Human Condition, will be analyzed in comparison with Heidegger's thinking. In the third paragraph, the limits and contradictions of Arendt's theory will be highlighted in relation to the critical literature of recent years.