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Labor in a Changing Economy ed. by William Haber (review)

1969; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 10; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/tech.1969.a892420

1097-3729

Ben B. Seligman,

American Environmental and Regional History

TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 623 call for the systems approach to problems of environmental quality; he previews not only the structure but also the problems of an interstate freeway system; he takes a forerunning look at a classical linear pro­ gramming problem in his review of wheat production and consumption patterns, etc. If asked to name MacKaye’s contemporary counterpart, one might suggest John McHale, with his arguments of a transnational ecosystem. MacKaye was practitioner as well as prophet. The two main sections of the book, “Control of the Landscape” and “Uses of the Wilderness,” draw on MacKaye’s past involvement in regional planning and wilder­ ness utilization (e.g., TVA and the Appalachian Trail). Concern, not geotechnics, is the keynote of the volume. Social engineers will want to read MacKaye’s writings not for new directions in ecological humanism, but for an appreciation of a pioneer in their profession. Robert C. Mayfield* Labor in a Changing Economy. Edited by William Haber. New York: Basic Books, 1966. Pp. 341. $5.95. This book, which originated in one of the “Forum” broadcast series sponsored by the Voice of America, represents one of the most complete discussions of American labor currently available. One might well antici­ pate such thoroughness, given the distinguished list of contributors—his­ torians, journalists, labor leaders, and university economists. Many of the latter can count as part of their credentials years of experience in the trade unions. The topics reviewed include the labor force, living stand­ ards, growth of the labor movement, wage policies, dispute settlement, labor in politics, social security, and future prospects. The coverage is indeed broad. Three chapters have the greatest relevance for readers of this journaltwo on unemployment as related to technological change (by Charles Killingsworth of Michigan State University and Otto Eckstein of Har­ vard) and one on the reaction of unions to technological change (by Ralph Helstein, formerly head of the United Packinghouse Workers Union, now merged with the Amalgamated Butchers Union). The present economic situation would appear to give Professor Eck­ stein the better of the argument. He subscribes to the aggregate demand theory as a way of dealing with unemployment, while Professor Kil­ lingsworth has contended for a long time that technology imposes deeprooted structural changes that create a hard core of unemployed difficult to deal with by ordinary fiscal measures. Eckstein asserts that so long as expansion proceeds rapidly, the hard core—those who suffer the highest unemployment rates—are bound to be absorbed into active economic streams sooner or later. * Dr. Mayfield is professor of geography at the University of Texas. 624 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE The difficulty I have with the expansion solution stems from the nature of that expansion, one that draws its impetus mainly from an economy driven by expenditures for defense and space. Back in 1964 and 1965 it was fashionable to argue that the Kennedy tax cut, a neo-Keynes­ ian device, had been the vehicle of economic advance. But it is seldom acknowledged that not only were the gains achieved via the tax cut ex­ hausted in about a year, but the putative benefits were directed to those who needed them least—the corporations and the rich. As a measure in­ tended to assist everyone, the tax cut simply ignored low income groups. Prosperity for all was derived more from war expenditures than from tax cuts. Should the contingency arrive in which defense outlays, now totaling some $80 billion, are substantially reduced, then the effects that Killingsworth describes may very well reveal themselves more sharply. Few will deny that technology in recent years has altered job requirements, so that, in the absence of the present artificial economic stimulus, jobs tend not to absorb those with poor education and low skills. Once such a pos­ sibility is recognized, it does become necessary to deal with the impact of technology in more specific ways, that is, with active manpower poli­ cies, retraining, and improved educational opportunities. Helstein’s views on the response of unions to technological change represent a marked shift of emphasis from his deep sense of unease in the late 1950s. Faced at that time with a catastrophic drop in...