Puissances et impuissances sociales de l’ennui

Boredom can be understood as a cyclical state, as a psychological disposition, as a form of mental integrity, but it can also be apprehended in a perspective which holds it as bearing witness to historical and socio-political backgrounds. From the Greek leisure time, in which the freedom not to have to worry about economic constraints opened up space for contemplation, boredom has since been used to refer to a vacuity linked to the upper class and its peaceful or concerned daydreaming. But it has a working-class side we forget about too easily. It refers then to a hint of alienation or dispossession by forced labor which deprives boredom from any reference to an identification one takes or can take a pride in.