Publisher's Synopsis
The "modern times" of the early twentieth century saw the rise of the assembly line and the belief that standardisation would make the world a better place. Yet along with greater production efficiency came dehumanisation, as the division of labour created many jobs requiring mindless repetition rather than conscious involvement with work. In our own modern times, a comparable revolution has been wrought by information technology. In this book Daniel Cohen traces the roots of this revolution back to the uprisings of 1968, when the youth of the industrialised world rejected the bourgeois values of their parents and the general situation of the workers. Students raised in the anti-establishment culture of the 1960s were able to shatter the world of standardisation created by their parents. By the end of the twentieth century, information technology had created decentralised work structures that encouraged autonomy and personal initiative. But with this greater flexibility came the psychic stress and burnout of a "24/7" workplace. Cohen explores the many ways in which the new technology has changed our work and personal lives and our conceptions of family and community.;He argues compellingly that the present era represents a revolution that will be completed only when the importance of human capital is no longer overshadowed by the cost-saving efficiencies demanded by financial capital.
