Social Institutions – Work HSP 3M - Unit 3 Social Institutions – Work Bain, C.M., & Colyer, J.S. (2001). The Human way. Toronto: Oxford University Press.

The Economy The economy is a social institution Production It organizes the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services in a society Production Creation of goods and services Distribution How goods and services are delivered to market Consumption The use of goods and services

The Economy continued Resources Labour Capital equipment Natural resources Production System Goods and Services Consumers Markets

A Brief History of Work

Hunting and Gathering Societies Nomadic groups of 20-50 related people Production, distribution and consumption part of family life “Work” is what had to be done to ensure survival Little or no surplus produced Subsistence economy

The Agricultural Revolution 5000 – 10 000 years ago breed animals and cultivate plants food surplus for first time encouraged permanent settlements specialized division of labour handicrafts were created and traded villages and towns rose “work” is now more specialized and more often done away from the family

Industrial Revolution (beginning 1850s UK) Mechanization Steam power increased production 100 times James Watts (1760s) Centralization, specialization and mass production Cottage industry (whole products) to factories (components) Assembly line production Workers only perform one specialized task Wage labour Workers now sell labour for wage not dependent on land Often poor working conditions Led to rise of labour unions

Industrial Revolution (beginning 1850s UK) Unions Workers unite to fight for the interests of the collective – (all workers) Minimum wage Maximum work day Better working conditions Better standards of living, quality of life and international trade Surpluses created Extensive trade between nations Citizens now have more rights under industrialization: Improved labour conditions Political rights for citizens Extended public schooling

The Post-Industrial Economy of the Information Age A Prominent Service Sector Provision of services more important than manufacturing In 1999, 74% of Canada’s labour force in service work Clerical, teaching, health care, information processing, banking, commerce, sales and retail 15% employed in manufacturing less than 5% in natural resources agriculture, mining, gas, fishing, forestry

An Information Revolution Generated by technology Automatic machines (robots) reduce the need for labour Internet has revolutionized the way information is shared: media, communication, banking… Information has become the product Most of the cost of a CD is to the artist, the shipping, the retail, not in the production of the CD itself MP3 files

A Global Economy Goods and information cross national borders with few restrictions Your shirt was designed in Italy, made in China from cotton grown in Africa, and finished in Canada Goods can be manufactured for very cheap Convergence – merging of a variety of communication technologies Newspaper, radio, television, telephone now in one medium - internet Marilyn Waring’s book “Who’s Counting?” Modern global economies don’t count unpaid work, largely done by women Other criticisms of the global economy Environmental damage and human rights abuses are also not counted in the global economy The poor working conditions of the industrial revolution have simply been shifted to other nations