FROM EXPLORATION TO FLEXIBILITY AN ONTOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF LABOR IN GLOBALIZED CAPITALISM

Work constitutes a central activity in the constitution of the social being and in mediating the relationship between human beings and nature, representing a fundamental category for understanding human societies. However, under the logic of globalized capitalism, labor has undergone successive transformations that have intensified its exploitation, precarization, and alienation. This study aims to analyze the historical trajectory of labor within the capitalist mode of production, highlighting its ontological foundations and the changes leading to the flexibilization of labor relations in the contemporary neoliberal context. The research adopts a qualitative approach, using a theoretical and bibliographical method, based on a systematic literature review. Data collection was carried out through academic databases and specialized journals, using keywords related to labor, capitalism, and precarization, covering both classical and contemporary reference works. Data analysis followed a critical-dialectical perspective, articulating Marxist concepts and explanatory categories of the transformations in the world of work. The main results indicate that the transition from Fordist to Toyotist production models, combined with the globalization of capital and the implementation of neoliberal policies, has resulted in the intensification of labor flexibilization, deregulation of labor relations, and increased job precarity and instability. It is concluded that these transformations reinforce the need to reclaim labor as an educational and emancipatory principle, based on a radical critique of the exploitation and alienation inherent in contemporary capitalism.