As technology evolves and automates more tasks in the labor field, it contributes to the unemployment of Americans. During the 1950s, technology was introduced to the American household: from the radio and the television screen to the automobile, technology began to integrate into the average American lifestyle. Behind the production of these products is an assembly line that provides job opportunities to working-class Americans. Industries that help sustain the quality of these products, such as gas stations, also provide job opportunities. These opportunities require Americans to complete certain labor tasks for their job, such as refilling a gasoline tank as a gas station attendant (Knickerbocker Productions, “Social Class in 1950's America”).
On the other hand, technology in the modern century evolved to the point where it has automated most of these tasks; there are no attendants in gas stations, as well as workers on the assembly line. Although technology has improved the work conditions in most industries, because of its improvement in efficiency, technology took away the labor opportunities for Americans to work.
Unskilled laborers are the first to lose their jobs when new technology is introduced to an industry. With the introduction of the of the cotton picker in 1944, costs to pick cotton decreased by more than eighty percent (Moses 6). Landowners still had their farms and even higher profit margins, but Black cotton pickers lost their jobs. Similarly, assembly line workers have begun to lose their jobs because robots can do their job faster and more efficiently (Moses 8). To prevent the unemployment of Black people in this field and other labor intensive jobs alike, technology must be adopted, and algebra must be used to do so. Instead of being replaced by technology, workers are able to incorporate it in their current
In her introduction, Barbara Garson gives the reader an idea of her personal work experience as a clerk with automation. One can see that Garson is a strong critique of automation. In order to convey how automation is affecting our society the author begins by analyzing and studying various jobs from the bottom on up (i.e. starting with the most unskilled labor).
As a nation coming out of a devastating war, America faced many changes in the 1920s. It was a decade of growth and improvements. It was also a decade of great economic and political confidence. However, with all the changes comes opposition. Social and cultural fears still caused dichotomous rifts in American society.
From the outside, the 1950’s was a great time for America. Society revolved around the idea of America being a middle-class nation. Americans worshipped conformity, and materialism satisfied the need to conform. However, the prosperity of materialistic America hid the growing, numerous problems. Dissent in any way was not tolerated; all injustice was stifled by a fear of difference. In “Fifties Society,” Alan Brinkley discusses the truth of the era; that the fear of nonconformity was hidden by the seemingly prosperous middle-class nation. Brinkley argues the Beat movement and “feminine mystique” show that the people who did not fit in reveal the true colors of 1950’s society.
During the post WWII period in America, the face of the nation changed greatly under the presidency of Truman and Eisenhower. America underwent another era of good feelings as they thought themselves undefeatable and superior over the rest of the world. Communism was the American enemy and American sought to rid the world of it. Because of the extreme paranoia caused by Communism, conformity became an ideal way to distinguish American Culture from the rest. Conformity became a part of every American Life to a large extent. It became evident through the medium of culture, society and politics throughout the era of the 50s.
If you have ever read the book 1984 by George Orwell, then an interesting topic may have crossed your mind. The way the classes of people break down can be quite similar, and very different at times. In the United States, we have classes like the lower class, the working class, and the middle class. In 1984, there were such classes as the Proles, the Outer Party, and the Inner Party. The way the classes are broken down in 1984 reminds me a little bit of my old history class. When I studied medieval times and the classes back then were broken down into the nobles, the bourgeois, and the serfs.
The 1950s seemed like a perfect decade. The rise of suburbs outside cities led to an expansion of the middle class, thus allowing more Americans to enjoy the luxuries of life. The rise of these suburbs also allowed the middle class to buy houses with land that used to only be owned by more wealthy inhabitants. Towns like Levittown-one of the first suburbs- were divided in such a way that every house looked the same (“Family Structures”). Any imperfections were looked upon as unfavorable to the community as a whole. Due to these values, people today think of the 1950s as a clean cut and model decade. This is a simplistic perception because underneath the surface, events that took place outside the United States actually had a direct effect on our own country’s history. The rise of Communism in Russia struck fear into the hearts of the American people because it seemed to challenge their supposedly superior way of life.
Technology unemployment is unemployment due to our discovery of means of economizing the use of labor outrunning the pace at which we can find new uses for labor. (Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2011)
Kailey Durnez History 132 Dr. Liles During the gilded age it was a time when individual freedom and governmental regulations meant differently from those of upper and middle class to working class. The differences these social classes faced were mainly due to the wealthy of the people. Upper and middle class consisted of wealthy doctors and lawyers as the working class consisted of factory workers who could barely put food on the table. The upper and middle class believed in social Darwinism, as the working class had denied social Darwinism.
As World War Two came to a close, a new American culture was developing all across the United States. Families were moving away from crowded cities into spacious suburban towns to help create a better life for them during and after the baby boom of the post-war era. Teenagers were starting to become independent by listing to their own music and not wearing the same style of clothing as their parents. Aside from the progress of society that was made during this time period, many people still did not discuss controversial issues such as divorce and sexual relations between young people. While many historians regard the 1950s as a time of true conservatism at its finest, it could really be considered a time of true progression in the American way of life.
Social and economic class is something we as Americans like to push into the back of our minds. Sometimes recognizing our class either socially or economically can almost be crippling. When individuals recognize class, limitations and judgment confront us. Instead, we should know it is important to recognize our class, but not let it define and limit us. In the essay, “Class in America”, Gregory Mantsios, founder and director of the Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education at the School of Professional Studies, brings to light the fact that Americans don’t talk about class and class mobility. He describes the classes in extremes, mainly focusing on the very sharp divide between the extremely wealthy and extremely poor. In contrast, George
The social and political climate of the United States had many similarities and many differences between the 1950s and the 1960s. Each of the two decades dealt with the evolution of civil rights within the nation, or the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality. Moreover, as the nation’s economy continued to flourish, the United States was expected to resolve numerous issues and to maintain prosperity. Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy are both regarded as great presidents for the ways in which they handled the situations the United States encountered.
When US officials became concerned about poverty during the 1960s, they quickly realized they needed to find out how much poverty we had. To do so, a measure of official poverty, or a poverty line, was needed. A government economist, Mollie Orshanky, first calculated this line in 1963 by multiplying the cost of a very minimal diet by three, as a 1955 government study had determined that the typical American family spent one-third of its income on food. Thus a family whose cash income is lower than three times the cost of a very minimal diet is considered officially
Since the 1950s, the equality of education has certainly improved in regards to race/ethnicity, socio-economic status and/or gender/sexual orientation. However, we still see major gaps in education especially in racial and ethnic populations. Title IX 1972 has absolutely improved the equality of education for females since the 1950s. Women have even surpassed males in obtaining degrees which is a major difference than in the 1950s when women hardly attended college. Gaps in certain areas, especially in STEM fields, still exist between genders. In 2006 women made up 51% of the population but only 20% of science and engineering careers. This would suggest that there are still inequalities in some fields between genders even with major improvements
The relationship between technology and employment is at the same time complex and volatile (Mokyr 1990, p.52). To illustrate, the term “Luddite” was coined in the early 19th Century to describe mindless machine-breaking (Jones 1996, p.21). The Luddites were skilled cloth-weavers who believed that technology would destroy their livelihood and opportunities for work (Jones 1996, p.22). They were opposed not to the knitting and lace-making machines as such, but more to the “de-skilling” involved as these machines replaced workers which, inevitably led to the destruction of craft industries during this period (Jones 1996, p.24).