I agree with the author that globalization and capitalism have really changed a lot of things. People like my dad, a 32 year employee of UPS, are going to have a harder and harder time of re-integrating during retirement. Most of these people need jobs just to keep them busy, but with a world more dependent on technology and globalization it is going to be very difficult for them to succeed.
The author talked about Karl Marx. I found this interesting since Marx said that men should not do meaningless or unimportant work. He was alluding to an idea that people should never be just the objects of labor. With technology becoming more and more advanced and people regularly changing fields and becoming more educated is this not what will be occurring? Think about it this way - machines do the majority of our work these days. This brings me to my next issue.
The author stated "It is undeniable that many people experience non-standard work arrangements as empowering and liberating." I don't entirely disagree with this, but these are some of the same people that wanted to challenge the status quo of the workplace being somewhere else and failed. They got us in a lot of trouble by sitting at home, speculating, and racking up huge debts. President Bush acknowledged this in a speech while he was in his second term. Technology is good and using it to better the workplace is great, but just because it is a liberating and empowering experience doesn't mean it is successful. How may of these people, after being their own boss, can successfully integrate back into the mainstream workforce now and get the economy going again?
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