Why does every new technology seem to make work harder and not easier? In 1974, Harry Braverman published a seminal text Labor and Monopoly Capital to answer that question. Combining a careful study of scientific management and technological innovation with several of Marx’s key concepts, Braverman explained why workers under capitalism are gradually transformed into mere cogs in the machine.

On the latest episode of Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber and Melissa Naschek discuss the process of managers breaking down workers’ skills and why work under capitalism tends to degrade rather than fulfill us.

Join Confronting Capitalism for a live recording in Brooklyn on April 6! Find more details and RSVP here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jacobin-who-speaks-for-the-working-class-majority-tickets-1984301239423

TICKETS: $10 solidarity rate. $20 standard entry. Seats are first come, first served.

The latest issue of Catalyst is out and you can subscribe for just $20 using the code CONFRONTINGCAPITALISM: https://catalyst-journal.com/subscribe/?code=CONFRONTINGCAPITALISM

Have a question for us? Write to us by email: confronting.capitalism@jacobin.com

Confronting Capitalism with Vivek Chibber is produced by Catalyst: A Journal of Theory and Strategy, and published by Jacobin. Music by Zonkey.

Confronting Capitalism: How Work Got So Bad