The Contrasts Between Traditional, Pre-industrial and Industrial Societies in Work

The Contrasts Between Traditional, Pre-industrial and Industrial Societies in Work

"We cannot understand work apart from society and historical change."

This purpose of this essay is to outline the stark contrasts between

traditional, pre-industrial and industrial societies to work. It will

show how work is inexorably interconnected with society and how

historical change has led to our understanding of work today.

In traditional societies, such as those of the pre-colonial,

Australian Aboriginals, there was no concept of money, or work for

either profit or accumulation. (Reynolds: 1981) They lived their lives

as survival dictated. There was no wage-labour, no separation of work

from non-work (Reynolds: 1981) and no concept of time or work,

presumably because these two concepts are so closely related.

(Thompson: 1967) In traditional Orokaivan society, there was not even

a generic term for work. (Schwimmer: 1980) Similarly, there was also

no equivalent to the word leisure, as leisure's meaning is derived

from 'time off' from work. (Study Guide: 2003)

Industrial societies are just the opposite, with a major emphasis on

surplus production, profits and time and work. There is wage-labour, a

generic word for work and a clear segregation of work from non-work.

In fact, it is by these three things that humans define themselves in

industrial societies. Virtually all human activity revolves around the

accumulation of goods; almost everyone works more than they sleep.

The idea that time is money has been perpetuated so much since the

industrial revolution began, that this simple homily in itself now

almost completely defines our society....

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Reynolds, Henry (1981) 'The Other Side of the Frontier. An

Interpretation of the Aboriginal Response to the Invasion and

Settlement of Australia.' Townsville: James Cook University

Schwimmer, Erik (1980) 'The limits of economic ideology: a comparative

anthropological study of work concepts.' International Science

Journal, Vol.32, No.3

Study Guide, The (2003) 'International Change and the Social World

One' Brisbane: Griffith University

Thompson, Edward (1967) 'Time work-discipline and industrial

capitalism.' Past and Present, No. 38, December