Work and Precarity Flashcards
what are Agrarian societies
pre industrial and rural societies whose primary economy industry was farming
what does Proletariat mean
Term used by Marx to describe the working class
what does exploitation mean
the idea that nothing has value unless labour is expended on it
Ex. the value of a wooden chair equals the energy devoted to chopping down a tree, assembling the wood, and painting or staining the chair
what does alienation mean
While animals labour is driven by instinct, humans think about what we are going to do before doing it
what are the four types of alienation
- Alienation from the product of labour: Under capitalism, workers do not own anything they produce
- Alienation from the process: workers also have little control over their daily work activity. Someone other than the worker makes decisions about how fast to work, the order in which to complete tasks, and the use of equipment
- Alienation from themselves: Assembly line working arrangements were seen to deskill workers and strip them of expertise and craftsmanship by carving production up into a series of small simplified tasks and dividing them amongst workers
- Alienation from other workers: Workers not only have few opportunities to connect with others workers, but they are forced to compete with each other for jobs, promotions, and other rewards. This arrangements prevents workers from seeing their common interests and mobilizing
what is rationalization
the process of replacing decisions, ideas, or actions based on traditions or emotions with practicality, calculation, and reason
what are Bureaucratic organizations defined by
- hierarchy
- a vertical command chain
- formal division of labour
- technical qualifications
- formal decision making processes deigned to eliminate inefficiencies and biases
what is mechanical solidarity
a form of social cohesion based on shared values and a relatively undifferentiated division of labour
- used by Durkheim
what does anomie mean
used to describe a sense of normlessness a condition in which there is a breakdown of social values and norms
what does organic solidarity mean
Durkheim developed the term “organic solidarity” to define a new form of social cohesion
wha is the standard employment relationship
- assumed that employment is done on a full time basis
- the employee works on the employers premises, employer provides a physical workplace
- standard employment assumes that the work is not fixed or temporary, work being done is permanent and a contract exists between the worker and the employer to ensure job stability
what are the main features of labour norms
- continuing industrial and occupational segregation
- income and occupational polarization both between and among women and men
- the gendering of jobs to resemble more precarious so called “women’s work”
what does deskilled mean
a process when workers gradually lose skills while doing a job. Braveman explains the deskilling process by which increased mechanization over the emphasis of production away from skilled labourers to unskilled labour to cut costs
what is horticulture
simple form of agriculture (using a stick to turn the soil), provides much more food per unit of land than gathering and hunting, could have held up to 5000 members oppose to 40, gender based division of labour (men would clear the land, women would plant weed and harvest)
what is agriculture
plow can turn the soil much more efficiently, increased plant harvest, humans could stay in one place, towns and cities emerge
