The domain and status of work or purposive-rational action in the writings of Jurgen Habermas is highly controversial. Some of his critics accuse him of abandoning the emancipatory potential of non-alienated labor, a central axiom of classic Marxism. This article analyzes his critics' arguments before taking up the influential commentary of Axel Honneth. His arguments are of significance for adult educators: he reinstates, modestly, the emancipatory potential of the organization of production by discovering a philosophical and moral grounding of this provocative proposal.