Lecture 9 - Work & Economy

Question 1

Work is a …

Answer 1

Social product built on social relationships

Question 2

What is Capitalism?

Answer 2

• Capitalism is a system based on private ownership of the means of production (Marx)

Question 3

What is the Goal of Capitalism?

Answer 3

Profit - maximize profits means work is structured in the most efficient way

Question 4

Why is Capitalism a system of Unequal Exchange?

Answer 4

Capitalists control means of production and workers have no choice but to sell their labour

Question 5

What is Family Capitalism?

Answer 5

• Family Capitalism – mid to late 1800s industrial capitalism was in its earliest stages. A few families controlled most of the country’s wealth and passed this on to their children

Question 6

What is Corporate Capitalism?

Answer 6

• Corporate Capitalism – the modern (limited liability) corporation where there is a concentration of wealth. Monopolies and Oligopolies rule the 1800s to mid 1900s

Question 7

What is a Monopoly and Oligopoly?

Answer 7

Concentration of Wealth
o Monopoly – one corporation has exclusive control over a market and can therefore control consumers “choices”
o Oligopoly – several companies control an industry

Question 8

What is the Global Economy?

Answer 8

• Global Economy – most large corporations that exist in a global context are called transnational or multinational corporations. Move beyond traditional boundaries to secure cheapest labour, lowest infrastructure costs, and permissive regulation

Question 9

What is the Primary Resource Industry?

Answer 9

• Primary Resource Industry – work in this sector of the economy involves the extraction of natural resources

Question 10

What is the Service Sector?

Answer 10

• Service Sector – much of this work is physically and emotionally demanding

Question 11

What is the Sphere of Production?

Answer 11

The primary resource sector, manufacturing and the service sector

Question 12

What is the Sphere of Reproduction?

Answer 12

• Sphere of Reproduction – buying groceries, planning and cooking meals, folding laundry, cleaning, driving, etc.
o Most of this work is performed by women in the household without pay

Question 13

What is the Informal Economy?

Answer 13

• It is difficult to estimate the size of the informal economy because work in it is not reported to the government (babysitting, peddling, maid service, street performers, street drugs, gambling, bartering)

Question 14

What is Hidden Work?

Answer 14

• “Hidden Work” is a survival/safety net for many marginalized workers

Question 15

Revolutionary New Technology is bringing the emergence of…

Answer 15

knowledge society / knowledge economy / information society

Question 16

What is the Sharing Economy?

Answer 16

Sharing knowledge and sharing for profit (UBER, wikipedia)

Question 17

What is Numerical Flexibility?

Answer 17

• Numerical Flexibility – shrink/eliminate core workforce and replace them with workers in non-standard work

Question 18

What is Non-Standard Work?

Answer 18

• Non-Standard Work – employment arrangements, e.g., part-time/temporary work, self-employment

• seldom receive assurances of stable employment
• fastest growing type of employment in Canada

Question 19

How much of Canadian Employees are part of unions?

Answer 19

• Approximately one-third of all employees in Canada are unionized

Question 20

How does the labour union curve look for men and women?

Answer 20

• Labour unions are decreasing for men, but staying relatively flat for women

Question 21

What is Precarious Labour?

Answer 21

Precarious workers are those who fill permanent job needs but are denied permanent employee rights. Globally, these workers are subject to unstable employment, lower wages and more dangerous working conditions. They rarely receive social benefits and are often denied the right to join a union.