Labor and Monopoly Capital: The Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century [Paperback]

Harry Braverman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0853459401 | ISBN-13: 978-0853459408 | Publication Date: December 1, 1998 | Edition: Anv

This widely acclaimed book, first published in 1974, was a classic from its first day in print. Written in a direct, inviting way by Harry Braverman, whose years as an industrial worker gave him rich personal insight into work, Labor and Monopoly Capital overturned the reigning ideologies of academic sociology.

This new edition features an introduction by John Bellamy Foster that sets the work in historical and theoretical context, as well as two rare articles by Braverman, "The Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century" (1975) and "Two Comments" (1976), that add much to our understanding of the book.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Harry Braverman was director of Monthly Review Press at the time of his death in 1976. John Bellamy Foster is associate professor of sociology at the University of Oregon, author of The Vulnerable Planet, and co-editor of In Defense of History: Marxism and Postmodern Agenda.

Product Details

• Paperback: 460 pages
• Publisher: Monthly Review Press; Anv edition (December 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0853459401
• ISBN-13: 978-0853459408
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,312 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Updating labor theory for the age of high technology, February 21, 2000

By 

David A. Beaton (Salem, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Labor and Monopoly Capital: The Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century (Paperback)

Labor and Monopoly Power, by Harry Braverman, brings basic Marxist labor theory up to date for the modern age. Though written 25 years ago, Braverman's work is the ideal guideline to understanding the age of information technology. Braverman expertly explodes the smug myths of "knowledge age" boosters by drawing the parallels to earlier industrial technology. The major misapprehension exploded is the one that says workplace automation demands higher skills and upgrades jobs. Braverman, through developing and applying the ideas not only of Marx, but of management proponents such as Babbage, Taylor and Bright, makes a convincing case for the opposite. Computers, like other technology before them, are being applied in ways that expose two objectives: (1) the reduction of the absolute numbers of workers, and (2) the reduction of skills among the remaining workers. Braverman's 1974 book was prophetic in that it described longstanding capitalist relationships that, applied vigorously since that time, have led to increasing income inequality in America.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finest book on economics from the last half of the 20th century, October 8, 2007

By 

left hook (Kaneohe, HI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Labor and Monopoly Capital: The Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century (Paperback)

The finest book on economics from the last half of the 20th century. No one should claim they understand capitalism if they can't address the fundamental points of this book. It shows Why Labor Matters--and how suppressing the social and political power of labor makes the system work.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a classic analysis of what capitalism does to work, July 16, 2007

By 

disidente "disidente" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Labor and Monopoly Capital: The Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century (Paperback)

This is a very detailed study, written by a writer who had been a skilled craft worker earlier in his life, not an academic. The book provides a good theoretical understanding of the way the logic of capitalist development degrades work. Through his discussion of Taylorism, aka "scientific management," Braverman shows how the breaking up of work into tasks and then re-defining the jobs is used to concentrate the conceptual and decision-making control into a hierarchy, and the control of workers is thus diminished. Capitalists will tend to do this because it strengthens their bargaining clout in dealing with workers.

But this is not a "technological determinist" argument. On the contrary, in his intro Braverman criticizes technological determinism. Rather, it is a particular social system, particular class interests, that shape decisions about what techniques are used in production. Technology is not neutral or independent of who controls it.

The alternative, which Braverman has hinted at in some of his writings, would be an economic system in which the physical work is re-integrated with the conceptual and decision-making tasks so that workers would become masters of production. But this would require a different economic system than capitalism, a labor-managed economic system.