The New Work Order: Behind the Language of the New Capitalism

by James Paul Gee, Colin Lankshear, Glynda Hull

Workplace democracy. Empowerment. Team leaders. Knowledge workers. This is the language of “the new work order” promoted by today’s management, which promises more meaningful and satisfying work, greater respect for diversity, and more democratic distribution of knowledge.But Gee, Hull, and Lankshear find startling contradictions in this brave new workplace—escalating inequality between individuals, nations, and even continents. They show how newly created alliances between business, educators, and psychologists may point to a hidden capitalist agenda more interested in preserving the status quo than establishing a new work order.This book offers a compelling and controversial account of global capitalism in the information age and the ways it affects language, literacy, learning, and life chances. It will be of particular interest to students in education, business, sociology, sociolinguistics, and communication studies.

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

James Gee is a researcher who has worked in psycholinguistics, discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, bilingual education, and literacy. Gee is currently the Mary Lou Fulton Presidential Professor of Literacy Studies at Arizona State University. Gee is a faculty affiliate of the Games, Learning, and Society group at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is a member of the National Academy of Education.