Modern Times, Ancient Hours Working Lives in the Twenty-First Century

by Basso, Pietro; Donis, Giacomo

• ISBN13: 9781859845653
• ISBN10: 1859845657
• Edition: 00
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-06-17
• Publisher: VERSO

Summary

It is a commonly expressed view that the sickness of our society is unemployment. Less frequently argued is the fact that we are, at the same time, suffering from overwork. It is even more rare to hear that the two sicknesses, unemployment and overwork, feed off one another and jointly attack the working classes worldwide.In Modern Times, Ancient Hours , Pietro Basso argues convincingly that the average working time of wage laborers is more intense, fast-paced, flexible, and longer than at any period in recent history. This is true, he posits, not only in industry and agriculture, but also, and particularly, in the service industry. In this comprehensive survey of all the Western countries, he demonstrates that extraordinary work pressure is increasing throughout. All the signs of a creeping deterioration in the working lives of millions of people are explored: a reduction in the purchasing power of wages, the mass downsizing of corporations, the continual erosion of company and state-ensured benefits, and finally the availability of much cheaper labor from Latin America, Asia, Africa and eastern Europe. The only sensible response is a renewal of the working-class struggle.Modern Times, Ancient Hours forcefully reminds us that the human aspiration to do work that does not break the body or the spirit is universal and deep-rooted. Workers will rise, Basso argues, if they continue to be pushed beyond their limits.

Author Biography

Pietro Basso is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Masters course in Immigration at the University of Venice, Italy.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
The Question of Working Hours	p. 10
Long-term Trends 1945-89	p. 26
Keynes's Prophecy
The Harsh Response of History
The Situation in the United States and Japan
The Situation in Europe
The Lengthening and Restructuring of Hours, after the Crisis of 1974-75
Technical Progress, Profit, Working Time
The Confirmation of the 1990s	p. 57
The Diffusion of Toyotaism
The Diffusion of Variable Hours
The Diffusion of Shiftwork
The Diffusion of Neoliberal Policies
(Official) Hours and Labour Productivity
A Reply to Some Objections	p. 92
The Numbers, Today and Yesterday
The Driving Force of the Reduction of Hours
Contradictions in the Calculation of Working Time
A Return to the Nineteenth Century?
The Presumed Disneyland of 'Services'
The Presumed Difference of Europe
The Presumed Cure-all of Part-time Work
Quantity and Quality
Second European Survey on Working Conditions	p. 140
Vietnam: 24-hour Continuous Shifts	p. 147
Towards the 35- or the 45-hour Week?	p. 150
The German Case
The French Case
The Italian Case
Modern Times, Ancient Hours: An Enigma?	p. 183
Theses of Neoliberalism	p. 183
First Elements of a Critical Analysis	p. 192
Social Labour, Private Appropriation
Capitalism, Production for Profit
Profit, Unpaid Working Time
The Capitalist Use of Science and Technology
The Paradox of Labour Productivity
Globalization and Working Hours
Notes	p. 217
Index	p. 265
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