Labor And Monopoly Capital
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''Labor and Monopoly Capital: The Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century'' is a book about the
economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
and
sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
of work under monopoly capitalism by the political economist
Harry Braverman Harry Braverman (December 9, 1920 – August 2, 1976) Agitating during the Red Scare After serving in the shipbuilding industry during World War II, Braverman began to deepen his commitment to revolutionary struggle, joining the first Trotskyis ...
. Building on ''
Monopoly Capital ''Monopoly Capital: An Essay on the American Economic and Social Order'' is a 1966 book by the Marxian economists Paul Sweezy and Paul A. Baran. It was published by Monthly Review Press. It made a major contribution to Marxian theory by shi ...
'' by
Paul A. Baran Paul Alexander Baran (; 25 August 1909 – 26 March 1964) was an American Marxist economist. In 1951, Baran was promoted to full professor at Stanford University. He was the only tenured Marxian economist in the United States until his death i ...
and
Paul Sweezy Paul Marlor Sweezy (April 10, 1910 – February 27, 2004) was a Marxist economist, political activist, publisher, and founding editor of the long-running magazine ''Monthly Review''. He is best remembered for his contributions to economic theory ...
, it was first published in 1974 by
Monthly Review Press The ''Monthly Review'' is an independent Socialism, socialist magazine published monthly in New York City. Established in 1949, the publication is the longest continuously published socialist magazine in the United States. History Establishment ...
.


Arguments

Intended as a direct assault on management of blue-collar labor under capitalism, Braverman's book started what came to be called, using Braverman's phraseology, " the labor process debate". This had as its focus a close examination the nature of "skill" and the finding that there was a decline in the use of skilled labor as a result of
managerial Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
strategies of workplace control. It also outlined workers' resistance to such managerial strategies. Specifically, Braverman subjected
Frederick Winslow Taylor Frederick Winslow Taylor (March 20, 1856 – March 21, 1915) was an American mechanical engineer. He was widely known for his methods to improve industrial efficiency. He was one of the first management consulting, management consultants. In 190 ...
to intense critique, describing Taylor's strident pronouncements on management's attitudes to workers as the "explicit verbalization of the capitalist mode of production". He argued that, in the present day, the 'successors to Taylor are to be found in engineering and work design, and in top management'. According to Braverman,
Taylorism Scientific management is a theory of management that analyzes and synthesizes workflows. Its main objective is improving economic efficiency, especially labor productivity. It was one of the earliest attempts to apply science to the engineer ...
had not been superseded by more humanistic management methods, such as those of
Hugo Münsterberg Hugo Münsterberg (; ; June 1, 1863 – December 16, 1916) was a German-American psychologist. He was one of the pioneers in applied psychology, extending his research and theories to Industrial organization, industrial/organizational (I/O), legal ...
or
Elton Mayo George Elton Mayo (26 December 1880 – 7 September 1949) was an Australian born psychologist, industrial researcher, and organizational theorist.Cullen, David O'Donald. ''A new way of statecraft: The career of Elton Mayo and the development ...
(as most textbooks then argued). Braverman instead argued that these 'practitioners of "
human relations In social psychology, an interpersonal relation (or interpersonal relationship) describes a social association, connection, or affiliation between two or more people. It overlaps significantly with the concept of social relations, which ar ...
" and "
industrial psychology Industrial and organizational psychology (I-O psychology) "focuses the lens of psychological science on a key aspect of human life, namely, their work lives. In general, the goals of I-O psychology are to better understand and optimize the effec ...
"' have supplemented Taylor's influence by forming 'the maintenance crew for the human machinery'. Braverman argued that knowledge of
Taylorism Scientific management is a theory of management that analyzes and synthesizes workflows. Its main objective is improving economic efficiency, especially labor productivity. It was one of the earliest attempts to apply science to the engineer ...
's profound impact on the twentieth century workplace, and management-labor relations, was poor due to a widespread misunderstanding of the historical development of the workplace. Indeed, Braverman's book was written in an accessible fashion precisely to make it easy for workers to comprehend the huge historical and structural changes which had taken place around them.


Key thinkers

Key thinkers examined in ''Labor and Monopoly Capital'' were
Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...
,
Charles Babbage Charles Babbage (; 26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871) was an English polymath. A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage originated the concept of a digital programmable computer. Babbage is considered ...
,
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
,
F. W. Taylor Frederick Winslow Taylor (March 20, 1856 – March 21, 1915) was an American mechanical engineer. He was widely known for his methods to improve industrial efficiency. He was one of the first management consultants. In 1909, Taylor summed up h ...
,
Frank Gilbreth Frank Bunker Gilbreth (July 7, 1868 – June 14, 1924) was an American engineer, consultant, and author known as an early advocate of scientific management and a pioneer of time and motion study, and is perhaps best known as the father and c ...
, William Leffingwell,
Elton Mayo George Elton Mayo (26 December 1880 – 7 September 1949) was an Australian born psychologist, industrial researcher, and organizational theorist.Cullen, David O'Donald. ''A new way of statecraft: The career of Elton Mayo and the development ...
, and
Lyndall Urwick Lyndall Fownes Urwick (3 March 1891 – 5 December 1983) was a British management consultant and business thinker. He is recognised for integrating the ideas of earlier theorists like Henri Fayol into a comprehensive theory of management admi ...
. Although the book did not include new archival research, ''Labor and Monopoly Capital'' built on influential historians such as
E.P. Thompson Edward Palmer Thompson (3 February 1924 – 28 August 1993) was an English historian, writer, socialist and peace campaigner. He is best known for his historical work on the radical movements in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, in partic ...
, Alfred Chandler,
J.D. Bernal John Desmond Bernal (; 10 May 1901 – 15 September 1971) was an Irish scientist who pioneered the use of X-ray crystallography in molecular biology. He published extensively on the history of science. In addition, Bernal wrote popular boo ...
,
David Landes David Saul Landes (April 29, 1924 – August 17, 2013) was a professor of economics and of history at Harvard University. He is the author of ''Bankers and Pashas'', '' Revolution in Time'', '' The Unbound Prometheus'', '' The Wealth and Poverty ...
,
Lyndall Urwick Lyndall Fownes Urwick (3 March 1891 – 5 December 1983) was a British management consultant and business thinker. He is recognised for integrating the ideas of earlier theorists like Henri Fayol into a comprehensive theory of management admi ...
, and E.F.L. Brech. In particular, Urwick was attacked as the 'rhapsodic historian of the scientific management movement'. Sociological analysis was provided by such authors as
Paul Sweezy Paul Marlor Sweezy (April 10, 1910 – February 27, 2004) was a Marxist economist, political activist, publisher, and founding editor of the long-running magazine ''Monthly Review''. He is best remembered for his contributions to economic theory ...
,
Paul A. Baran Paul Alexander Baran (; 25 August 1909 – 26 March 1964) was an American Marxist economist. In 1951, Baran was promoted to full professor at Stanford University. He was the only tenured Marxian economist in the United States until his death i ...
,
Georges Friedmann Georges Philippe Friedmann (; 13 May 1902 – 15 November 1977) was a French sociologist and philosopher, known for his influential work on the effects of industrial labor on individuals and his criticisms of the uncontrolled embrace of techno ...
,
William Foote Whyte William Foote Whyte (June 27, 1914 – July 16, 2000) was an American sociology, sociologist chiefly known for his ethnography, ethnographic study in urban sociology, ''Street Corner Society''. A proponent of participant observation, he lived f ...
, and
Daniel Bell Daniel Bell (May 10, 1919 – January 25, 2011) was an American sociologist, writer, editor, and professor at Harvard University, best known for his contributions to the study of post-industrialism. He has been described as "one of the leading ...
.


Impact

According to one source, the book sold 120,000 copies between 1974 and its 1999 reissue. ''Labor and Monopoly Capital'' was read widely in many languages and had particular impact on scholarly debate in Britain, to the extent that one author described the phenomenon as 'Bravermania'. Despite being overtly hostile to academic
sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
, ''Labor and Monopoly Capital'' became one of the most important sociological books of its era. It revived academic interest in both the history and the sociology of workplaces setting the agenda for many subsequent historians and sociologists of the workplace. Historical studies influenced by ''Labor and Monopoly Capital'' include research into
deskilling In economics, deskilling is the process by which skilled labor within an industry or economy is eliminated by the introduction of technologies operated by semi- or unskilled workers. This results in cost savings due to lower investment in human ...
,
bureaucracy Bureaucracy ( ) is a system of organization where laws or regulatory authority are implemented by civil servants or non-elected officials (most of the time). Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments ...
,
Marxist historiography Marxist historiography, or historical materialist historiography, is an influential school of historiography. The chief tenets of Marxist historiography include the centrality of social class, social relations of production in class-divided s ...
,
business history Business history is a historiographical field which examines the history of firms, business methods, government regulation and the effects of business on society. It also includes biographies of individual firms, executives, and entrepreneurs ...
,
historical sociology Historical sociology is an Interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary field of research that combines Sociology, sociological and History, historical methods to understand the past, how societies have developed over time, and the impact this has on ...
, the Bedaux System,
Bedaux Unit The Bedaux Unit emerged from the U.S. scientific management Scientific management is a theory of management that analyzes and synthesizes workflows. Its main objective is improving economic efficiency, especially labor productivity. It was on ...
, and the
Taylor Society The Taylor Society was an American society for the discussion and promotion of scientific management, named after Frederick Winslow Taylor. Originally named The Society to Promote The Science of Management, the Taylor Society was initiated in ...
. Some authors including
David F. Noble David Franklin Noble (July 22, 1945 – December 27, 2010Morrow, Adria"David Noble, academic and activist, dies at 65" ''The Globe and Mail'', December 28, 2010, accessed December 30, 2010.) was a historian and critic of technology, science ...
thought Braverman was overly pessimistic about how subordinated to capital labor had become, and produced case studies as to how workers had resisted management interventions at the point of production. Several historians have responded to ''Labor and Monopoly Capital'' by revealing through archival research that the
Taylor Society The Taylor Society was an American society for the discussion and promotion of scientific management, named after Frederick Winslow Taylor. Originally named The Society to Promote The Science of Management, the Taylor Society was initiated in ...
had been far more liberal than Braverman suggested Taylor's long-term influence had been. The Taylor Society even included a small number of Marxists such as Walter Polakov.


The Great Recession and Taylorism 2.0

Amidst the aftermath of the Great Recession, on
Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...
2009, the ''Wall Street Journal'' declared ''Labor and Monopoly Capital'' to be number one among the 'Five Best Books on Working'.Jonna, R. Jamil, and John Bellamy Foster. "Braverman and the structure of the US working class: Beyond the degradation of labor." ''Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal'' 26.3 (2014): 219-236
Link
/ref> Like Baran and Sweezy's ''
Monopoly Capital ''Monopoly Capital: An Essay on the American Economic and Social Order'' is a 1966 book by the Marxian economists Paul Sweezy and Paul A. Baran. It was published by Monthly Review Press. It made a major contribution to Marxian theory by shi ...
'', Braverman's book made a comeback during the
Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.
and debates on the composition of the contemporary working class and '
Taylorism Scientific management is a theory of management that analyzes and synthesizes workflows. Its main objective is improving economic efficiency, especially labor productivity. It was one of the earliest attempts to apply science to the engineer ...
2.0'. Some commentators including the ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'' argued that digital technology afforded managers a new chance to subordinate labor to capital, but added that digital technology also offered workers new forms of organization and resistance.Paul Heideman, 'Technology and Socialist Strategy' ''Jacobin magazine'', 4 July 2015: https://jacobinmag.com/2015/04/braverman-gramsci-marx-technology


See also

*
History of economic thought The history of economic thought is the study of the philosophies of the different thinkers and theories in the subjects that later became political economy and economics, from the ancient world to the present day. This field encompasses many d ...
*
Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...
* Monopoly Capitalism


References

{{Reflist


Further reading

*Braverman, Harry. 'Two comments.' ''Monthly Review'' 28.3 (1976): 122–23. *Littler, Craig R. ''The development of the labour process in capitalist societies: a comparative study of the transformation of work organization in Britain, Japan, and the USA''. Heinemann Educational Publishers, 1982. *Littler, Craig R., and Graeme Salaman. "Bravermania and beyond: recent theories of the labour process." ''Sociology'' 16.2 (1982): 251–269. *Littler, Craig R., 'The Labour Process Debate: A Theoretical Review, 1974-88' in Knights, David, and Willmott, Hugh (eds.), ''Labour Process Theory'' (Basingstoke and London: Macmillan Press, 1990). *Arlie Russell Hochschild. ''
The Managed Heart ''The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling'', by Arlie Russell Hochschild, was first published in 1983. In it, she documents how social situations influence emotions through the experiences of flight attendants and bill collectors. ...
: Commercialization of Human Feeling'' (1983). *Bryan D. Palmer, “Before Braverman: Harry Frankel and the American Workers’ Movement,” ''Monthly Review'' 50, no. 8 (1999): 33 *Dave Renton, ''Against Management: Harry Braverman's Marxism'' (n.d.) onlin
here
1974 in economic history 1974 in labor relations 1974 non-fiction books Books about labour English-language non-fiction books Marxist books Monthly Review Press books Sociology books Sociology of work