last day in London until next year. siiigh

ohhh nothings gonna change my love for you

Phillip Clark

EH466

7.11.2011

Short Essay

Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses faced by organized labour

In objectively weighing the various factors which have manifested themselves as a result of historical trends towards organized labor, the value of case studies are beyond crucial. This is because much of the movement and variation is so contextual and dependent upon the broader cultural, economic and sociological frameworks within each given example (DuPlessis, 259). Significant, fundamental barriers to the establishment of organized labour are thusly dealt with in various ways; subsequent correction or dysfunction generates in kind. Without making a broad value judgement on the state of organized labour within the date range of interest on the whole, we know enough to decide how effective certain anecdotal measures were. The contents of this essay will do so in very brief and inevitably incomplete detail.

Background

In order to understand the move towards organized labour, it is necessary to provide analysis into whatever form of labour preceded it. Speaking approximately and generally to the labour experience within central Europe in the early modern period, that system was mostly coerced (DuPlessis, 259). This was ironically and partially due to the industrial adoption of some expensive innovations, including machinery for the running of a particular business as well as the increased proliferation of large enterprise (DuPlessis, 259). DuPlessis conversely describes western European labour as being much freer during this time, though “free” in this context is an acutely relative term. Marked by varying degrees of geographic and social mobility, as well as agency over production, western European laborers, artisans and industrial workers enjoyed a less exploitative labour environment (DuPlessis, 260). It is of course worth noting that coercive practices such as slavery were still practiced alongside these perhaps romantic notions of labour (DuPlessis, 261).

Strengths and Weaknesses

Leading up to the modern form of organized labour, employers and employees engaged in tense wage negotiation. For employers, this included flexing the power to hire and fire workers, threatening to move to lower-wage areas, lobbying the authorities to intervene on the behalf of the firm and other, more spurious actions (DuPlessis, 271). Workers also had political avenues at their disposal, though given the clear inequity in power, one questions their effectiveness. At the behest of disgruntled labour, the authorities might “order wage increases, mandate fairer payment, outlaw sharp practices,” in order to maintain some semblance of order and equality (DuPlessis, 272). 

Work-related conflicts were often quite personal as well, given the “small, dispersed” nature of the labour environment (DuPlessis, 272). This meant that much of the negotiation and dispute was face-to-face; despite the intimate working environment, the content of dispute very often included topics like “work practices, wages, authority and discipline” (DuPlessis, 272). It is important to note that rather than barring collective association, small, detached labour units gave rise to the notion of the ‘brotherhood’, a common type of association formed by journeymen across large geographical spans (DuPlessis, 273). Often culturally and religiously integrated, brotherhoods “were nourished by cooperative work experiences that fostered a strong sense of common identity,” in response to increased barriers to market entry and in contrast to the increasingly alienating frameworks imposed by guilds (DuPlessis, 273). In a clear illustration of how important external economic and cultural circumstances are to the formation of such early collective groups, evidence suggests that not all sectors of labour developed such organizations (DuPlessis, 276). This is partially due to the above-mentioned external factors, but also to the lack of specific, concrete data.

Conclusion

In evaluating the merits of collective action in this time period, several clear strengths emerge. Primarily and most importantly, as a result of the increased bargaining power derived from cooperation, workers were able to gain concessions from employers, if collective actions were handled properly (DuPlessis, 280). Strikes, for instance, could be ameliorated “quickly” with conclusions that were favorable to workers, so long as “employers’ orderbooks were full, the issues were clear, the action won and maintained wide support, and the authorities could be neutralized if not won over” (DuPlessis, 281). Group cohesion and social recognition was also a notable strength, as members included in these organizations tended to organize around homogenous goals and identities (DuPlessis 276); these tendencies made for sound group structure and catalyzed specific events. 

Weaknesses of organized labour look very much like a mirror of the strengths. Many collective actions backfired when done under less than ideal circumstances, having either a neutral effect on concessions or, in some cases, inflaming employers to act in the direction precisely opposite to the desire of the laborers (DuPlessis, 281). Inclusiveness of a particular labour demographic meant, through purely mathematical probability, that there are excluded demographics. As was often the case, women were barred from these fraternities, though some made exceptions for the wives of higher-ranking journeymen (DuPlessis, 273). Though these trends of patriarchy existed long before the date range of interest, women’s work became even more constricted between the 16th and 18th centuries (DuPlessis, 286). The argument for correlation between organized labor these broader trends in gender is plausible; minor causality is dubious but possible as well.

Analysis of some of the hazing activities paint a particularly unpleasant portrait of organized labour in this period, with intimidation tactics employed to force members of a given labour community into solidarity with the larger brotherhood (DuPlessis, 282). Defectors could “expect violent treatment, up to and including murder.” The arc of history is riddled with anecdotes from across the spectrum of such actions and as such, these kinds of group behaviors can be viewed as either an unsustainable cultural trait of the brotherhood which ultimately weakened long-term effectiveness, or as a necessary mode of action against a far more oppressive framework.

Truly objective analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of organized labour in this period is nearly impossible, given the dispersed nature of where it began. We do know certain broader trends though, and of those we clearly make out a picture in which organized labour succumbs to serious pitfalls. In relating this analysis to the broader concept of labour in this period, it is essential to note that circumstances under which organized labour was possible were likely the outliers. This conclusion is perhaps one of the reasons why more data isn’t available. Of the data we do have, the verdict is that these early formations of organized labour were part of a necessary, semi-dysfunctional phase within this particular vein of history.

Works Cited

• DuPlessis, Robert S., (1997) “Experiences of Labor in the Era of Transitions” from DuPlessis, Robert S., Transitions to Capitalism in Early Modern Europe pp.259-302, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press

this is me, being a child. wheee

Both going into the Great Depression and afterwards, the sudden decreases in money supply must necessarily be attributed entirely to the artificial and dramatic “contradictions” in the money-gold ratio (Bernanke, 6). It was active, contractionary policies within the US prior to 1931 which caused money supply to artificially bottleneck, causing a 6% decrease in the US monetary base between 1928 and 1930 (Bernanke, 6). It is clear that these policies had such a profound effect that the ramifications were beyond anyone’s control by 1931. Countries who were pegged to the gold standard, regardless of monetary policy, were rocked as the US tried in vain to stabilize itself by increasing it’s gold reserves (Bernanke, 6). It is clear however, that such stabilization was at the cost of the global economy and very much a reactionary motion to the initial plummet within US. Lesson learned: don’t yank the monetary levers.

the contents of this video are all you need to know about london. magical.

being as I am missing Thanksgiving, I have jumped straight to Christmas. this is my favorite song of all of them.

here were are as in olden days
happy golden days of yore
faithful friends who are dear to us
gather near to us once more

through the years
we all will be together  
if the fates allow  
hang a shining star
upon the highest bough  

and have yourself a merry little Christmas now

As I am in London and thus over 5000 miles away from Silicon Valley, I have cringed just a little bit harder each day as this week has rolled around, counting the moments backward to a date from which I will ultimately be isolated. Being lucky enough to have my family intact, in love and at their absolute best during Thanksgiving has always given structure to my Autumn and the ensuing holiday season. While Halloween perpetually escapes me as a meaningful holiday beyond the surface-deep social festivities, I am always reminded about what and who is important in an explicit and unassailable manner near the end of November. If you’re unfamiliar with the way my family celebrates Thanksgiving, you could be understandably wondering why I’m so attached to the often banal, rehearsed motions of many American holiday celebrations. My experience with Thanksgiving is quite the opposite, so let me share. Just the sharing in and of itself will make me feel closer.

Let it first be known that my connection to Thanksgiving is established through family. Family is my vigor and sanctuary. My parents have sacrificed immensely and daily to create circumstances which allow me to live my life in the ways I want and to the fullest extent my imagination can enrapture itself. That reality, and just how incredibly close my family must be to accomplish my parent’s vision, escapes me on a daily basis. I am selfish and have no sacramental sense of perspective, I am distracted and self-absorbed. Save for Thanksgiving, I rarely sit down to pick apart my life and see that beauty for what it is.

This richness in Thanksgiving is due in no small part to the candid and unaffected experience it inevitably ends up being. The shape of the holiday in my family has ascribed to no real ethnic (you are not your ancestors, you are you and nobody else) or traditional pathways for celebration; such structures often color holidays in meaningless repetition and thusly displace value from the real experience. Instead, my parents have placed the priority of the moment above all else. There is no ritual or thing which is necessary for Thanksgiving to transpire. Instead, there is only the presence of people, and the connection that they share. Contributing to that lack of routine is the reality of how motley the composition of the Thanksgiving crowd at my house always is. Often comprised of rotating factions from my mom’s side of the family, of colleagues and students of my father’s, those working or studying from India, Russia and China who have nowhere to go and have yet to experience a typical American Thanksgiving. Towards the end of the evening, the group additionally incorporates friends whose festivities have ended early. It’s always unpredictable and always well-mixed, and it always feels right.

It is in those moments, standing in a circle and face to face with my loves ones, that I am slapped with the jarring reality of how charmed my life is, and how little I have had to do with any of that charm. Being in London for the holiday season, I am missing that experience for the first time in my life and yet, as I type out this reach for emotional connectivity, I come upon the realizations all over again. Without family and friends, I am nothing; this is true regardless of where I am. I am indebted to the roles they play and the support they provide, and the fact that I am in London to begin with is the highest and most pertinent illustration of that. Realizing all this does indeed bring me clarity in what matters. Never further away, never more lucid in resolve.

Living and releasing and breathing and taking it all in and giving it all up and leaving it all behind. I’m so lucky to be living this life. I forget that pretty often. What did I do to deserve these people and these opportunities? I lucked into it. It makes no cosmic sense to give me all this potential, given how forgetful and unfocused I am. Now, to make use of it all.

No pressure.

Sorry I haven’t been posting! That needs to change.

So I decided to start doing these little one minute panoramas of London and wherever else I am. And obviously, I’m setting it to music, because that’s just the necessary thing. This is just along the Thames, directly South of LSE and the neighborhood where I live. Beautiful doesn’t begin to describe it.