Contemporary society has increased in its complexity over the past three and a half decades. The labour market as we know it differs rather immensely from what was experienced at the turn of the century. Labour has evolved so dramatically that some prefer to say that we have entered a new age, that of post-industrialism. Whether or not this is the case, there is much to be observed and examined as to how our sophisticated society induces and influences social exclusion amongst members of our community. Daniel Bell, the proponent of post-industrialism hints at a strong version of understanding social exclusion. Bell's theory supposes that the structure of a post-industrial society is responsible for intensifying issues surrounding social exclusion. His theory in relation to the changes witnessed in western society and their influence on social exclusion are discussed initially. Subsequently, social exclusion is engaged in more detail.
[...] Yet one must question though, do we indeed occupy a post-industrial society? And though it has been examined that social exclusion has its roots in the discrimination of age, gender, disability and ethnicity; such exclusion restricts from a decent foot in the labour market. Thus it is important to recognize that the issues surrounding exclusion always revert back to one's position in the market. In regards to Beck's risk society model, much truth can be found that we are in a developed state of industrialization. [...]
[...] The standardisation of both production and consumption created a sense of solidarity within society, whereby citizens participating in equal forms of labour allow for equality within other spheres of life (e.g. education, income and housing). Post-Fordism conversely entails a move away from the traditional production techniques and industries. With the development of sophisticated technology in western societies, much of the monotonous and routine labour of Fordist production has become obsolete. The outsourcing of manual labour and manufacturing to less developed countries is particularly accepted for many capitalist corporations looking to cut on production costs. [...]
[...] In G. Payne, ed. Social Divisions. 2nd ed. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Ch Barry, B Exclusion, Isolation and Income. In J. Hills, J. Le Grand & D. Piachaud, eds. Understanding Social Exclusion. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ch Beck, U Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity. London: Sage Bell, D The Coming of Post-Industrial Society: A Venture in Social Forecasting. London: Heinemann. Buck, N., Gordon, I., Hall, P., Harloe, M., & Kleinman, M Working Capital: Life and Labour in Contemporary [...]
[...] Bell asserts that there is an ‘expansion of new intelligentsia' in post-industrial societies represented by the increase of occupations the universities, research organizations, professions and government' (1974: 15). Accordingly he asserts that the existence of theoretical knowledge is the principle axial of post-industrial society and thus believes that it precedes the production of technology. Bell takes this notion a step further by arguing that theoretical knowledge becomes a tool in which society is able to plan technological developments by creating systems of mapping and forecasting. [...]
[...] Beck is keen to admit that we indeed do not live in an industrial society. However, he is also quite adamant about the fact that we have not yet progressed into a post-modern epoch. Industrial society is correlated with the age of ‘classical' modernity, whereas in the ‘new' modernity increasing technological advances thrust us into the risk society (Clark 1997 cited by Ritzer & Goodman 2004). Thus to Beck we inhabit a mature form of the industrial society which is ‘developing away from the axes of lifestyle in industrial society social classes, nuclear family, sex roles, and career' (1992: 134). [...]
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