borgintro

Borg Introduction

social class:

what is middle class?

you don't have to worry about money in as immediate a way
work that is professional or white collar
higher or specialized education

blue collar/working class/lower class/proletariat--people who are looked down on by the middle class?

blue collar--working with hands
jobs you can do without being educated (may require smarts but not book smarts)
but some blue collar workers make so much money we consider them middle class
paid by the hour rather than salary

focus on the middle ground--not production or consumption but maintenance and repair done by people who do not create or own the item

that middle ground has long existed--stone dressers
Repair work is not easily rationalized, standardized, or made efficient
it is a low prestige job that takes lots of skill and smarts

it wasn't clear originally who would repair cars and what their professional and social role would be. It was worked out by different groups competing for particular roles and trying to redefine roles once they had them

When the automobile begins to be criticized in the 1960s, mechanics get more negative publicity
computer built into cars for control and monitoring took away control from mechanics

auto repair knowledge is not easily codified, so it cannot be deskilled to people just following instructions
on the other hand it is not easily formalized to give professional status
it is still tacit (sense based) knowledge, craft knowledge rather than scientific

how does personal experience inform this book?