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Rethinking industrial citizenship: the role and meaning of work in an age of austerity
Author(s) -
Strangleman Tim
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the british journal of sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.826
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1468-4446
pISSN - 0007-1315
DOI - 10.1111/1468-4446.12135
Subject(s) - citizenship , austerity , capitalism , sociology , meaning (existential) , industrial society , environmental ethics , social science , law , epistemology , political science , anthropology , philosophy , politics
T. H . M arshall in his famous tract C itizenship and S ocial C lass wrote briefly about what he called ‘industrial citizenship’, a type of belonging rooted in the workplace. Here M arshall's ideas are developed alongside a consideration of D urkheim's P rofessional E thics and C ivic M orals together with research material from the G uinness C ompany. It shows the way the C ompany actively sought to create ‘ G uinness citizenship’ within its L ondon brewery. The article draws out the ways in which the significance and potential of work based citizenship for ameliorating the ills of industrial society are clearly articulated in mid‐twentieth century B ritain and echo earlier neglected D urkheimian sociological ideas on work. These ideas have real potential to inform contemporary academic and policy debates about the nature of capitalism and the form and content of work now and in the future.