Marx's Ideas on Work Organization: Reinvestigating the Conceptions of Cooperation,the Division of Labor,and Machinery

Abstract

Harry Braverman's “degradation thesis” is only one aspect of Marx's analysis of the labor process. A close reading of Chapters 13 to 15 of Capital Vol. 1, based on English and Japanese preceding studies, shows a dual system of work organization under the capitalist mode of production: concentrated and dispersed. Today's information and communications (ICT)-based work organization could be seen as an example of the latter, i.e., an online-controlled putting-out system. The concentrated work organization has two types: the automation-oriented model consists of mechanized processes maintained by unskilled labor. In contrast, the craft-oriented model is a set of mechanized work that requires different kinds of skilled labor. These definitions urge us to reconsider the general law of capitalist accumulation and the traditional strategy regarding class struggle.

Keywords

Marx work organization cooperation division of labor machinery putting-out system

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