The ideas and examples referenced below are notes compiled by Robert Keel and Shannon Mayer in their reading of Volti's, Society and Technological Change, 3rd ed., St. Martin's Press, 1995. They are intended for classroom use.
WORK IN NON-INDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES
Majority of people’s lives is spent working
technology has greatly changed the way we work
it has lightened our load
Working with the Earliest Tools
Earliest man (Homo habilis) used simple tools
Early tools have crude appearance but are not primitive in use
Early tools called primitive because they were used by one person for a few tasks
Early societies --> division of labor very limited
Workers in "Primitive" soccieties did not lack technical ability
Although work process is simple, worker may be highly dextrous and ingenious
"Stone Age" technology very important breakthrough -->
the idea of making stone chipping tool is hardly obvious
Work and Leisure in Technologically Primitive Societies
Primitive people — life of work and toil may not be the whole picture
!Kung Bushmen (Present day-Kalahari Desert- S. Africa) give insight into primitive man
!Kung live in harsh, difficult environment
But !Kung not etching out a meager existence, as one would suspect
Adults work 12-19 hours each week to maintain their lifestyle
Remainder time --> hanging out w/ friends and family
One commentator: "The !Kung are the original affluent society"
Affluence not equal to Abundance --> !Kung have very little material stuff
!Kung illustrate the principle:
"The Amount of work per capita increases with the evolution of culture, and the amount to leisure per capita decreases"
"A technologically dynamic society generates labor-saving devices, but at the same time it produces a steady stream of new goods that are eagerly sought after....As workers in a a technologically advanced society, we often find ourselves on a treadmill, working long and hard to obtain the material goods that we scarcely have time to enjoy" (129)
Work and the Development of Agriculture
Hunting and gathering dominant mode of existence throughout human history
Why did humans take up farming
Some say changes in climate
Others argue — climate did not radically change when farming emerged
Whatever the cause — ability of people to produce food grew rapidly
Development of agriculture allowed for greater population densities
Workload of individual increase
Farming Techniques and Patterns of Work
Connection between technology, population expansion, and increased work best demonstrated
through farming technology
Foraging- Hunting and Gathering societies
Slash and Burn- (earliest farming technology) cut down vegetation and burn it on the spot
Clears land & puts nutrients in the soil
After harvest land is abandoned up to 20 years --> land replenishes itself
More destructive than foraging but less destructive than some other practices
This practice supports more people than foraging 150 people/sq. mi.
Annual labor requirement— 500-1000 hours — 9-19 hrs./wk = to !Kung
Cannot support large populations
Sedentary farming — (Irrigation) supports larger populations — more destructive
Settled farming— people can remain in one place — communities emerge
Paradox — as land becomes more productive, people have to work harder
2X the labor is required for this method
The Ironies of Progress
Is an "advanced" society truly advanced?
"Advance" needs to be considered within a number of qualifications
Time— does technology save time or is it time consuming?
Skill — technology may not mean the individual is more skilled
foragers have just as much "skill" as modern man
One thing is certain — the development of agricultural technology increased the human workload
Artisans and Craft Work
Settled Farming — communities emerge — many of the institutions of today are a result of this shift in farming
Religious institutions
Political institutions
Division of Labor
Market emerges
When goods are no longer made for one another but for a market— work is no longer embedded in social relationships
"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but form their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity, but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our necessities, but of their own advantages"
Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations
Market relationships are based on the exchange of goods and services
This relationship ends when the transaction is complete
This principle has far reaching implications for the way in which work is approached
"When work is firmly rooted in social relationships, the way the work is organized will not be governed solely by the technical requirements for the job." (134)
Guild Organization and Technological Change
Guilds- groupings of people engaged in the same kind of occupation
restricts the practice of a particular craft to members of the guild
New members often recruited w/in guild families
Guild regulates entrance of new members and, consequently, new blood into the industry
because "outsiders" are restricted, innovation they may have for industry is never
realized --> technological change is stifled
Slavery and the Inhibition of Technological Development
When slaves are readily available, there are few incentives to invent and use labor-saving technology
Rome/Greece --> few technological advances — many slaves
Middle Ages --> many technological advances — few slaves (Church forbade slavery)
The Measurement of Time and Changed Working Patterns
Relationship between work and time:
amount of time that is expended on work
the way that it is scheduled
In traditional societies the distinction between work and leisure unclear
work integrated with various religious and social activities
certain times of year required much work (harvesting) other times required little
No fixed schedules
In modern society work/leisure distinction is much sharper
Rise of Protestantism (Calvinism) gave a new centrality to work
The Clock
Major influence by this invention
Time telling devices always a part of human existence (Sun Dial, etc.)
but none as "accurate" as the clock
Ancient world had little need for clock — society not regimented
The rise of the Medieval monastery brought about the need for precise time telling
Monasteries had hundreds of monks and workers to be organized
Prayer time, Masses, and other religious observances required scheduling
Rule of St. Benedict — day/night divided into 12 hr. intervals— prayers said every 3rd hr.
First Clock — 13th century
Clock — embodies all the key characteristics of a machine
external source of energy required — no human or animal power needed
Operation — automatic— required little human intervention
Output — standard — in hours, minutes, seconds
Clock made time into a substance, something to be saved or wasted
Clock is the symbol for modern age
Clock turned work into routinized procedures governed by artificial time schedules