Regulation and resistance: defactorisation in the beedi industry of colonial Malabar, 1937–1941
TL;DR: In this article, a case study of defactorisation of production in a traditional industry (beedi rolling) in colonial South India is presented, where the implementation of the Indian Factories Act is examined.
Abstract: This article presents a case study of defactorisation of production in a traditional industry – beedi rolling – in colonial South India. It examines the implementation of the Indian Factories Act a...
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TL;DR: In this article, it is argued that self-expression in work must at best be a luxury reserved for the very few regardless of social and economic organization, and even the satisfactions of society's elite must be perverted by their dependence on their dependence, with rare exception, on the denial of selfexpression to others.
Abstract: Is it possible for.work to contribute positively to individual development in a complex industrial society, or is alienating work the price that must be paid for material prosperity? Discussions of the possibilities for meaningful revolution generally come down, sooner or later, to this question. If hierarchical authority is essential to high productivity, then self-expression in work must at best be a luxury reserved for the very few regardless of social and economic organization. And even the satisfactions of society’s elite must be perverted by their dependence, with rare exception, on the denial of self-expression to others. But is work organization determined by technology or by society? Is hierarchical authority really necessary to high levels of production, or is material prosperity compatible with nonhierarchical organization of production?
1,103 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider the growth of pre-industrial industry as part and parcel of the process of industrialization, rather than as a first phase which preceded and prepared modern industrialization proper.
Abstract: Well before the beginning of machine industry, many regions of Europe became increasingly industrialized in the sense that a growing proportion of their labor potential was allocated to industry. Yet, that type of industry—the traditionally organized, principally rural handicrafts—barely fits the image one has of a modernizing economy. There is, however, cognitive value as well as didactic advantage in thinking of the growth of “pre-industrial industry” as part and parcel of the process of “industrialization” or, rather, as a first phase which preceded and prepared modern industrialization proper.
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TL;DR: The authors argues that such a thesis misreads history and is essentially ideological, arguing that the employer, who added nothing to technical efficiency, used specialization of tasks to divide labor and impose himself as boss, thereby creating an artificial, unproductive role.
Abstract: If employers make so much money, why don't workers hire machines and expertise and make the money instead? This question has generated a large body of writing, including Stephen Marglin's much-cited article “What Do Bosses Do?” Marglin draws on history to argue that the employer, who added nothing to technical efficiency, used specialization of tasks to divide labor and impose himself as boss, thereby creating an artificial, unproductive role. These arrangements were embodied in domestic industry and were reinforced when employers turned to the factory system as a more effective disciplinary mode. This article argues that such a thesis misreads history and is essentially ideological.
171 citations
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