Introduction
Over the last two centuries, work in Canada has changed significantly from an economic/social system based on individual craftwork and family agriculture to highly politicized, collective factory work to a constantly evolving knowledge- and service-based, bureaucratized structure. This evolution from pre-industrialism to post-industrialism has affected the work itself (how it’s organized and accomplished), workers and their relationship with management, government involvement, and how technology is used. However, can we consider Canada a post-industrial society? The purpose of this paper is to analyze the components and main theories of industrialism and post-industrialism, briefly trace the history of work in Canada, examine relevant …show more content…
26). It includes the notion of deindustrialization, or the decline in agricultural, resource extracting, and manufacturing industries, with an increase in service- and knowledge-based industries (Krahn et al, 2012, p. 29). Several contemporary sociologists have conceived theories on how post-industrialism is evolving and what it means in today’s society, a few of which follow.
In the early 1970s, American sociologist Daniel Bell was the first to recognize how the structure of work had been shifting from agrarian to manufacturing to a service sector orientation (Krahn et al, 2012, p. 26). Bell theorized that power in society would shift from those who owned/controlled assets, to those who held knowledge and could solve problems (Krahn et al, 2012, p. 27). He forecasted that a class of knowledge workers would grow into the new elite and eventually narrow class divisions (Krahn et al, 2012, p. …show more content…
Workers who once controlled their own inputs, outputs, work organization and conditions, have invariably transitioned into commodities used by capitalists to recognize profits within a labour market driven by neo-liberalism and the laws of supply and demand, sometimes with few rights or the ability to realize a return on investment for their efforts. In Statistics Canada’s The Canadian Labour Market at a Glance (2007), it is evident that there has been an overall decline in agricultural and manufacturing jobs (with 75% of all jobs centered in service-based industries), and this trend is ongoing. Very recent Statistics Canada data for monthly versus yearly earnings by industry shows consistent downward trend for industrial sectors of business while service-based industry inches steadily upward (Earnings,
Over the last two centuries, work in Canada has changed significantly from an economic/social system based on individual craftwork and family agriculture to highly politicized, collective factory work to a constantly evolving knowledge- and service-based, bureaucratized structure. This evolution from pre-industrialism to post-industrialism has affected the work itself (how it’s organized and accomplished), workers and their relationship with management, government involvement, and how technology is used. However, can we consider Canada a post-industrial society? The purpose of this paper is to analyze the components and main theories of industrialism and post-industrialism, briefly trace the history of work in Canada, examine relevant …show more content…
26). It includes the notion of deindustrialization, or the decline in agricultural, resource extracting, and manufacturing industries, with an increase in service- and knowledge-based industries (Krahn et al, 2012, p. 29). Several contemporary sociologists have conceived theories on how post-industrialism is evolving and what it means in today’s society, a few of which follow.
In the early 1970s, American sociologist Daniel Bell was the first to recognize how the structure of work had been shifting from agrarian to manufacturing to a service sector orientation (Krahn et al, 2012, p. 26). Bell theorized that power in society would shift from those who owned/controlled assets, to those who held knowledge and could solve problems (Krahn et al, 2012, p. 27). He forecasted that a class of knowledge workers would grow into the new elite and eventually narrow class divisions (Krahn et al, 2012, p. …show more content…
Workers who once controlled their own inputs, outputs, work organization and conditions, have invariably transitioned into commodities used by capitalists to recognize profits within a labour market driven by neo-liberalism and the laws of supply and demand, sometimes with few rights or the ability to realize a return on investment for their efforts. In Statistics Canada’s The Canadian Labour Market at a Glance (2007), it is evident that there has been an overall decline in agricultural and manufacturing jobs (with 75% of all jobs centered in service-based industries), and this trend is ongoing. Very recent Statistics Canada data for monthly versus yearly earnings by industry shows consistent downward trend for industrial sectors of business while service-based industry inches steadily upward (Earnings,