Grounding Globalization: Labour in the Age of Insecurity

by Edward Webster, Rob Lambert, Andries Beziudenhout

*Winner of the 2009 Distinguished Scholarly Monograph Prize, awarded by the American Sociological Association Labor and Labor Movements section* Claims have been made on the emergence of a new labour internationalism in response to the growing insecurity created by globalization. However, when persons face conditions of insecurity they often turn inwards. The book contains a warning and a sign of hope. Some workers become fatalistic, even xenophobic. Others are attempting to globalize their own struggles.

Examines the claim that a new labour internationalism is emerging by grounding the book in evidence, rather than assertion Analyzes three distinct places – Orange, Australia; Changwon, South Korea; and Ezakheni, South Africa – and how they dealt with manufacturing plants undergoing restructuring Explores worker responses to rising levels of insecurity and examines preconditions for the emergence of counter-movements to such insecurities Highlights the significance of 'place' and 'scale', and demonstrates how the restructuring of multi-national corporations, and worker responses to this, connect the two concepts

281 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Abby Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grounding Globalization was written to show how globalization changed labor relations using case studies of refrigerator factories in Ezakheni (Defy), South Africa; Changwon (LG), South Korea; and Orange (Electrolux), Australia. The authors use Polanyi's concept of "The Great Transformation" after industrialization as a starting point for evaluating collective labor movements stating "The rapid growth of economic liberalism over the past 25 years has led to the current period of the world history as being defined as a Second Great Transformation." These concepts bring attention to counter-movements designed to protect society from commoditization of land, labor, and money. The authors argue Polyani's concept fails to understand how counter-movements arise. The book seeks to explain nuances of power in associational (symbolic) and structural (market, workplace, logistical) forms (p. 13). And it identifies scale as networks and levels of power with a specific focus on the workplace, household, and community (p. 16). In the three factory locations, workers experienced "a profound sense of insecurity" which resulted in either retreat/adaptation or collective counter-movements (p. 55). Actions of the workers were bound to the unique history of each location, and places in the global South were strongly affected by forces of colonial conquest. Collective counter-movements were shifting over time. Retreat/adaptation measures included xenophobia, long work hours, and pooling resources at household level (p. 55). Collective counter-movements included organizing informal workers, engaging local organizations, or building global alliances (p. 157). In closing, the authors deem the job of "engaged intellectuals" is to help develop a "new labor internationalism" where nature, work, socially-responsible corporations, active democratic societies, fair-trade systems, and global politics are re-created through collaboration between intellectuals and labor movements (p. 222).

This book provides an interesting summary to other authors assigned this quarter. First, authors of this book believe any movement for social change must work within the global economic system [that is, Capitalism]. They state: "Given the difficulty of this terrain, and the fact that it is hard to envisage any dramatic rupture of the present capitalist order, alternatives need to be identified in the actual existing experiments, institutional forms, and global links that are emerging" (p. 216). This is not to say they are advocating for neoliberalism and the associated deregulation, privatization, and competition. Instead, this book shows deregulation, privatization, and competition result in corporate restructuring with high unemployment, low wages, and reduced social services. They - like David Harvey - imply global corporate success and concentration often resulted from increased international and state regulation, and they detail LG's success in Korea as an example of such state-regulated corporate success. They - like Neil Brenner - believe uneven development is rampant with globalization and it creates insecurity. Interestingly, and almost in reply to Brenner's evaluation of new scales and networks of regulation and movement of capital, the authors of Grounding Globalization feel new scales and networks would be essential in an organized global counter-movement. This global counter-movement should rely on technology to unite workers and intellectuals in creation of new spaces of power to change the status quo, but it will have to be adapted to place, space, and scale. Overall, this book was a good attempt at analyzing nuances between and compiling ideas about development of global counter-movements. But I'm concerned about the authors underlying faith in trade unions as the main organizing arm to change the status quo, and their disinterest in the value of organic intellectuals as part of such efforts.