The Great Transformation Of Work By Jeffrey Salaz Summary

Professor Jeffrey Sallaz, of the University of Arizona, compares and contrasts the four contemporary theoretical traditions of the labor process in a sociological and economic viewpoint in his from the chapter “The Great Transformation of Work”, from his book Labor, Economy, and Society. Sallaz does not focus so much on the labor markets but emphasizes the labor processes. With this in mind, Sallaz extrapolates the Sociological theory and theories from Smith, Marx and Polanyi to debate the origins, consequences and future of the great transformation of work; each having a unique frame on the state’s role, human nature, consequences of commodification in the labor market, and the impact and future of the worker. Sallaz’s chapter begins with problems that are habitually neglected by society: dealings with the labor market and how people’s work has transformed into a commodity that is bought and sold.
19). Marx believed that humans did not just produce to survive but they had the capacity to engage in labor that is “free” and “conscious” (p.25). Humans did not create to only survive, but to thrive, by using their skills and knowledge to increase productivity. Unfortunately, this would lead to a crisis of overproduction and the estrangement of the worker where the worker’s labor becomes a commodity and the state takes advantage and rulers over workers and production. These Marxist and Smithian theories clash due to Marx’s belief of capitalism exploiting the worker would become alienated from his work and himself, whereas Smith believed it would improve the worker’s skills and inventiveness (p. 31). The future to this theory shows an ever-increasing inequality, with a view to communism, that repeats a cycle of class, seizing control and