On Work: Historical, Comparative and Theoretical Approaches

Most of the world's work is done by women and most of the world's work is done outside employment. The post-industrial developed world is now a society based primarily on service industries and the once agricultural societies of the third world are becoming increasingly industrialized. Work is becoming the key personal, social and political issue of the age. As the confusion about the meaning, nature and purpose of work grows so it has taken a central place in political and sociological study. This is a collection of articles which looks at all forms of work from a historical, comparative and theoretical perspective. The international collection of authors (some of whose essays have not been published before) include Michael Burawoy, David Stark, Nanneke Redclift, Lourdes Beneria, Maxine Berg, Enzo Mingione, and Jonathan Gershuny. Pahl provides a lengthy introduction and linking passages to provide an essential reader complementary to existing texts in a core area of social science.