Retórica Das Pseudoatividades E O Desenlace Da Sociedade Do Trabalho: Uma Análise À Luz De Habermas

This article aims to examine the concept of pseudo-activity as formulated by Theodor W. Adorno, establishing a dialogue with the proposal of the end of the labor society, offering a reflection in light of Jürgen Habermas’s perspective. Both thinkers are associated with the critical tradition of the Frankfurt School, although they present different approaches regarding the implications of modernity for work, culture, and the public sphere. Adorno criticizes rationalization and mass culture, considering them instruments of dehumanization in social and labor interactions. This dynamic generates practices that, although seemingly emancipatory, in fact perpetuate the logic of the system. In this context, pseudo-activity emerges as a form of simulated action, disconnected from any real transformation of social structures. Habermas, for his part, although heir to Adornian criticism, redirects the focus of analysis to communicative rationality, highlighting the relevance of public discourse and democratic deliberation. His view of the post-industrial society or a collapsing labor society provides a theoretical basis for understanding current changes in the role of labor and the emergence of fragmented issues. Based on this theoretical articulation, the article analyzes the consequences of the replacement of socioeconomic agendas by identity-based issues in the public domain, especially from the 1990s onward, influenced by neoliberalism and the technological revolution.