Labor and Monopoly Capital

The structure of occupational inequality

“…But from an historical perspective it is also an outcome of past interactions of technical and social relations of production, reflecting union strategies and employer attempts at social control in response to concentration of capital, automation of production processes, and skill specifically associated with advances in production technique (Braverman, 1974;Doeringer and Piore, 1971). …”

“…Figures 3 and 4 suggest that what Braverman (1974) has described as a de-skilling ofrthe American labor force may in fact be a polarization of skills. There has been a continued increase since 1900 in the proportion of the nonagricultural labor force in the nonmanual occupations with considerable general, specific and educational requirements (professional groups, and to a lesser extent, managerial groups), but a more dramatic increase has occurred (from about 5 percent of the nonagricultural labor force in 1900 to about 16 percent in 19(0) in the clerical nonmanual occupations that have relatively lower requirements.…”

“…Some examples of this reciprocal relationflhip were given above. Technical advances a11owinf, for the automation of production processes also allow for the social control of incumbents in subordinate occupational positions (Braverman, 1974), while the skill specificity associated~07ith the technolog:f.cal change can enhance the bargaining position of unionized occupations (Doeringer and Piore, 1971). Conversely, the~lergence of new corporate fonns associated with the expansion of capital have provided the impetus for the implementation of new production processes (Chandler, 1962).…”

Animals, Capital and Sustainability

“…6 This leads to the question that underpins our analysis: how do those seeking profit from their use of resources manage the production process to produce profit, and what are the implications of these strategies for animals? Braverman's insightful analysis of the labor process makes clear the conflict between those who are managing the labor process-capitalists and their agents-and the human resources they deploy in the process-workers (Braverman, 1974). We believe his argument also provides insights into the situation of animals in contemporary capitalist production.…”

Book Reviews

“…Lenin's distinction between worker resistance within the labor process informed by 'trade union consciousness' and that at the societal level informed by 'socialist consciousness' has tended to re-inforce Marx's emphasis on class struggle as a force for transformative change in the mode of production. As a result, an 'inevitablist' attitude has developed towards technical and organizational changes within the capitalist labor process, an attitude which affects even Braverman (1974).…”