The Sociology Book

232

A U T O M A T I O N I N C R E A S E S

T H E W O R K E R ’ S C O N T R O L

O V E R H I S W O R K P R O C E S S

ROBERT BLAUNER (1929– )

A

lienation occurs when

workers are disconnected

from and lack control over

their work, according to Karl Marx.

In his influential book on industrial

society, Alienation and Freedom:

The Factory Worker and His

Industry (1964), US sociologist

Robert Blauner draws heavily

on Marx’s concept of alienation

to examine the possibility that

alienation in the workplace can

be significantly reduced by the

effective use of technology.

Blauner claims alienation

is central to understanding the

negative impact of automation

on workers during and after the

Industrial Revolution. His text

critically assesses Marx’s claim

Workers in different industries experience varying levels

of alienation in automated work processes...

Knowledge of automation

increases the worker’s control over work

processes and reduces alienation.

...those who

lack knowledge of and

control over technology

have high levels of

alienation.

...those with

expert knowledge

of technology

have low levels of

alienation.

IN CONTEXT

FOCUS

Alienation

KEY DATES

1844 Karl Marx introduces

the concept of estrangement

or alienation from the world

in Economic and Philosophic

Manuscripts of 1844.

1950–60 Increasing

industrialization of the

US economy leads to the

significant occupational

restructuring of society.

1960 The concept of alienation

is imported into US sociology

by theorists from the neo-

Marxist “Frankfurt School.”

1964 Robert Blauner’s

work redirects the focus

of US, French, and British

sociologists on alienation

and automation.

2000–present Commercial

organizations such as Apple

and Microsoft seek to

empower workers by using

automated work processes.