History of Work

• Work is defined as the activity that provides a socially valued product or service.
• Work includes paid and unpaid work, such as caring and volunteering.
• Work includes both "formal" and "informal" economy jobs.
• The nature of work is constantly changing from a historical perspective.
• Work is shaped by industrialization and capitalism

Canada in the Late 1800s/Early 1900s

• Canada was largely rural, and manufacturing jobs were in the minority
• Farming and other resource-based jobs like forestry and fisheries were common
• Large families were common, with female employment and child labor
• Many households were self-sufficient and beginning to move into a "paid work" economy

Feudalism (9th-15th Century)

• Feudalism is the economic and political system that predated capitalism in Europe
• European feudal society had high social inequality

Social Classes in Feudal Society

• Small aristocracy and merchant class in cities, whose power was sanctioned by religion
• Rural landowning class and peasantry (overwhelming majority who worked the land)
• Peasants paid rent to the landowning class, typically with produce, for the right to farm small parcels of land

Work in Feudal Society

• Subsistence agriculture and craft work were primary
• Work was labour-intensive with basic technology
• Hard physical labour was seasonal and irregular, involving both human and animal labour
• Craft work included blacksmithing, carpentry, stonemasonry, metalsmithing, and seamstressing
• Status and occupation were typically defined from birth
• The population was largely illiterate

Feudalism: Living Conditions

• Poor living conditions for most, impoverished by modern standards
• Life expectancy at birth hovered between 30-35 years
• Individual rights were almost non-existent
• Wealth and power were largely inherited
• Little economic or social change occurred because mutual obligations were reinforced by culture, tradition, and religion
• Feudalism was eventually replaced by Capitalism in Europe

Origins of Industrial Capitalism

• The rise of "Mercantile Capitalism" was the earliest phase in Capitalism's development, beginning in Europe in the 1500s
• Society remained largely feudal in character
• A global trading system expanded
• New technologies and transportation spurred this expansion
• Colonial empires were established
• England, France, Spain, Holland, and Portugal acquired wealth, including precious metals, spices, sugar, and furs
• The forced colonization of other peoples and the "trade" of human beings (slavery) was central to this system

Colonies established by European Colonial Powers by the mid 1700s

• It involved an extremely violent period of "colonization"
• Slave labour in the U.S. and Caribbean was common
• Working and living conditions were often "horrid."
• Canada has a sad history of “colonization"
• Canada exported furs, fish, cereals, lumber to France and the UK

Consequences of Colonization on Indigenous Populations

• The Indigenous population was hit hard by colonization
• It involved forced removal from lands, colonial wars
• Societies involved a mix of hunting/gathering/farming
• A diversity of different cultures and living conditions existed
• There was pandemic, mortality and major de-population.

Mercantile Capitalism

• Accumulation of financial capital by the merchant class was key to later stages of capitalist development, independent of the aristocracy
• It set the conditions for the Industrial Revolution

Cottage Industries

• Many "cottage industries" existed in the UK & across much of Europe under Mercantile Capitalism
• Cottage industries involved small-scale, decentralized workshops
• Examples included textiles (weaving, dying of materials), metal works, pin making, charcoal production, tailor shops, milling (grains), and furniture production
• With the growing wealth of the Merchant class, a "putting out system" expanded
• Merchants would contract "piece work" jobs to these households
• Eventually, these "cottage industries" evolved into or were displaced by the emergence of "industrial capitalism" and the "industrial Revolution

Stimulating the Industrial Revolution

• The accumulation of wealth under Mercantile capitalism and the "putting out system" helped stimulate the "Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution (IR) Definition

• The process of societal change that has occurred in many different world regions and historical eras
• Shift from an agrarian and handicraft economy to one dominated by industry and machine manufacturing
• First emerged in the mid to latter 1700s in the UK and has occurred repeatedly in many different countries since

Industrial Revolution (Mid- to Late 1700s Onward)

• Era of rapid social and economic change
• Spurred by:
• Large pools of capital from merchants/banks
• Incentive to accumulate more wealth
• New "knowledges" as gained via science
• Surplus labour due to displacement by modern technologies in declining cottage industries and agriculture

Science and technology

• Science: the pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of the natural and social world following a systematic methodology based on evidence
• Technology: the application of science or knowledge to practical problems (double edged sword).
• Scientific Revolution -> Industrial Revolution

Early consequences of the industrial revolution

• Many changes were witnessed, some positive, but many arguably for the worse
• Rapid urbanization: Europe's cities were congested, polluted and highly unsanitary
• Factory system develops
• Deskilling of work: Many "craft workers" were replaced by machines & the work servicing the machines often involved less Skill

Defining Industrialization

• New technologies and energy sources (e.g., steam, spinning jenny)
• Factory production
• Higher productivity (and later a higher standard of living)
• Paralleled by urbanization and managerial control

Defining Capitalism

• A distinct "social system of production" different from feudalism and socialism
• A "Labour market" is created where:
• Wage-labourers create value
• Owners control who works and how work is done

Polanyi (1944) - "The Great Transformation"

• Industrial capitalism transforms Western societies
• Wage labour becomes the dominant form of work
• New forms of large-scale, centralized production become increasingly common..
• Slow and steady decline in agriculture & urbanization..
• Shifts in norms and values-"clock time"
• The eventual emphasis on "reform” and “individual rights"
• Rise of scientific management

Canada's Industrialization

• Canada didn't really have “feudalism" (perhaps to a very limited extent with New France: Seigniorial System)
• The economy that emerged "under "Mercantile Capitalism" was a "Staples economy"
• Resource-rich colony: fur, timber, fisheries, agricultural lands
• Even today, among "more developed countries," Canada's resource is atypically important to our economy
• Canada has a history of high immigration to fulfill labour shortages
• Late industrializer (mid to later 1800s onward) –- but by 1900, the 7th largest manufacturing nation
• Canada is unlike Britain and the US -> because of its Branch Plant Economy: foreign ownership in our economy has always been relatively high

Perspectives on Industrial Capitalism Emerge

• Understanding the emergence and evolution of industrial capitalism was a key focus
• Two 19th century thinkers: Adam Smith and Karl Marx were primary figures

Adam Smith (1723-90)

• 18th century economist & moral philosopher
• Widely known as "The Father of Economics" or "The Father of Capitalism"
• Adam Smith is considered a foundation for "mainstream" economic thinking
• He acknowledged that early industrial capitalism in the UK had its problems, but it also had all sorts of potential
• Adam Smith is often said to have provided the "Ethical foundation for capitalism"

Adam Smith's Core Arguments

• Writing in a context of latter stage mercantile capitalism, with extremely high levels of social inequality and wide scale poverty/destitution across much of the UK
• Division of labour and increased productivity are core
• Capitalism = could potentially lead to increased wealth and societal prosperity across much of Europe

Adam Smith: Division of Labour

• Division of labour is central to Adam Smith's thinking
• Defined as: the separation of a work process into a number of tasks, with each task performed by a separate person or group of persons (e.g., assembly line)
• For Adam Smith, "Cottage industries" were less productive
• Little division of labour was typically present in the cottage industry model
• In factory production, rather than one worker trying to do all tasks involved in the production of a good, many workers would specialize (division of labour) and combine their efforts
• Results in more produce per worker/hour

Adam smith's pin factory example

• Adam Smith used "Pin Factory" (production of nails) to explain concepts
• Many steps are involved in its production (from mixing and smelting of materials to the sorting and packaging of produce): Adam Smith documented up to 18 different steps
• In cottage industries, productivity was relatively low as one household would attempt to do all 18 steps
• In factory production, with persons specializing in specific tasks, production was much much higher:
• Much more repetitive work could result

The "Invisible Hand of Market"

• Individuals competing and pursuing self-interest in a capitalist marketplace can create social benefits
• Competition spurs innovation and economic growth (to reduce price and increase sales)
• “The market" is often said to be the "moral foundation of capitalism"
• The assumption is the "market" leads to social progress
• Not everyone agrees with these assumptions.

Karl Marx (1818-83)

• Had little faith in capitalism evolving to meet societal needs
• Most sociology students are exposed to Marx in studying "Classical Sociological Theory" (important contribution to many traditions in Sociology)

Marx: Critiques on Early Industrial Development

• Marx described his 19th century Britain (still early into the industrial revolution)
• In 19th century Britain, there was widespread poverty, unemployment, high mortality, slums, horrible living conditions
• While Adam Smith acknowledged this, Marx explicitly blamed Capitalism for it
• The critique was of the failure of the economic relations of society; which is inherent to the mode of production: Capitalism
• Poverty and unemployment were inevitable under capitalism
• Necessary for disciplining the workforce, keeping wages low

Exploitation on Labour

• Marx argued that Profit under capitalism depended upon the exploitation of labor
• That not only inequality was inevitable under capitalism, but this inequality would worsen with time
• Productive forces of industrialization could be released with the right political conditions

Marxist Views

• Most people sell labour on the market
• Labour + natural resources = production of commodities & services
• Ownership is concentrated among a few
• Most work for somebody else who owns
• "The means of production" includes machinery, factories, offices
• "The conditions of production" includes natural resources
• In selling "commodities" & services, the owner (capitalist) must obtain "surplus value" which is the difference between market price and production costs
• The fundamental idea is that profit requires underpaying labour

Marx: Historical Analysis

• Marx predicted increased polarization under capitalism
• Forecast capitalism would undermine the economic conditions for its own perpetuation

Beyond Marx's Predictions

• Since Marx, the following has occurred:
• Decreased mortality, climbing literacy, rising living standards, and wealth on a global scale
• Overall, living standards are at levels that couldn't even be imagined of in the 19th century

Across Western Nations:

• Remarkable gains in productivity due to technology
• Industrialization & technological innovation
• Witnessing emergence of liberal and social democracies with institutions that can regulate the economy and provide public services
• A public sector has grown in importance: health, teaching, public administration;
• Unionization has had a major impact on wages
• Unexpected growth in the middle class
• Democratic institutions emerged, has an independent judiciary & press
• Public pensions, welfare, minimum wage, universal education, promotion of public health, universal health care have all occurred
• Many continue to be self employed or work in small businesses,..