'The Book' - Blog 12

Chapter three continued...

To clarify, the definition of class is: groups of individuals who relate to the production process in similar ways. This is important to note because this is how we relate to each other, as groups. The reason the authors bring up this idea is because economic life does not mindlessly produce social outcomes, it changes and develops through class relations. The authors offer a critique of the way work in set up and the clash between work and personal development. It is this connection between work and social life that is one of the central questions in sociology.

The authors argued that the technocratic-meritocratic view failed because it stressed the technical rather than the social relationships of work and the production process. The authors feel that Dewey had too much faith in the democratic nature of work. They feel that a new social structure must be developed, not new technologies to increase the personal development of workers. This is because material satisfaction is only one area of work, job security, social relations and most importantly the development of human potential is what needs to be fostered.

This connection between work and social life is so important because work on some level defines who we are. (When you first meet some one it seems that the main question you hear or ask is what do you do for a living?) The authors looked at a few studies and it was found that the more satisfied you are with your work the longer you live. Work seems to spill over into all aspects of ones life. Yet the authors found that most people view work as a painful necessity. This is coupled with the idea that most individuals realize that they are working for a profit for a company and not contributing to social welfare. This is coupled with the fact that most companies operate with the bottom line in mind. Workers are seen as commodities and this in turn leads to alienation of the labour force, in that it creates powerless and underemployed social groups.

To be continued...