Week 2 diss 1 Across the World, Industrial History Repeats Itself - Essay Example

Week 2 diss Across the World, Industrial History Repeats Itself There are several similarities between the modernization of the American workforcein the last twenty to thirty years and the industrialization of the country after Reconstruction. This was the phase that, the country’s economy was transformed from an industry-based economy to a service-oriented economy. It is based on the parallelism that, it becomes pertinent to compare these two scenarios. The physical migration of workers during American industrialization and modern day intellectual transition into a new type of workforce would also be compared with a highlight of two examples of the role that technology played and still plays in both scenarios.

The roles that, the citizens play as consumers as the country strives for a fast-growing and sustainable economy would also be highlighted. The industrialization of the United States of America after Reconstruction was a period that, the black southerners were used to achieve industrialization in the North. The end of Reconstruction signaled the end of racial equality as the blacks now fell swiftly into a phase of inequality and exploitation (Healey, 2011). Because of this, the African Americans, American Indians, and Mexican Americans were used to achieve industrialization in the North after Reconstruction as they were mainly used as laborers (Healey, 2011).

This is quite similar to the modernization of the American workforce in the past twenty to thirty years. However, this is not a case of the blacks from the south being used as laborers in the industrialization of the country in the past twenty to thirty years; blacks from different parts of the world have been used for outsourcing-jobs, since their services are usually cheaper than their white counterparts are. Thus, the industrialization of the United States of America after Reconstruction and the modernization of the American workforce in the past twenty to thirty years are quite similar as African Americans, American Indians, and Mexican Americans were used to fuel the economy at these periods (Healey, 2011).

During the industrialization era in the United States of America, the blacks from the southern part of the country migrated to the Northern states in search of improved means of livelihood as industrialization was on the increase in the Northern part of the country at that period (Healey, 2011). Due to the racial segregation of the blacks in the South, the blacks had no option than to embark on mass migration to the Northern parts of the country. The hard times that hit Southern Agriculture also necessitated the mass migration of the African Americans, American Indians, and Mexican to the Northern parts of the country.

This is quite similar to the present-day intellectual transition into a new type of workforce as several citizens from under-developed and developing countries migrated to the United States of America in search of greener pastures. The economic hardships in these countries made the citizens of these countries, especially African countries to search for a better means of livelihood in the United States of America (Healey, 2011). This was a period of intellectual transition of the best brains of the African countries into the United States of America.

The rapid improvement in technology during the industrialization period and the modernization of the American workforce made machines to replace humans as a means of labour. The implication of this is that, people were made to work for lesser sums of money than they used to in times past. Thus, the only options left with the African Americans, American Indians, and Mexican that were racially segregated and oppressed after the Reconstruction was to take up some menial jobs in order to make ends meet (Healey, 2011).

Thus, it was the increase in technology during the industrialization that reduced manual-labor jobs. Technology also resulted in an increase in the proportion of white-collar jobs, especially during the service-oriented economy in the past twenty to thirty years. The roles that citizens play as consumers in a country’s desire for a fast-growing and yet sufficiently stable economy cannot be overemphasized. The citizens are saddled with the responsibility of blending with the trend of technological advancement.

They have to make sure that, as the means of production are becoming more advanced; they are also well-equipped to handle these machines as this would make them relevant in the society. The fact that, the machines have replaced humans in the means of production does not mean that, the roles of humans have been relegated to the background. Humans would operate these machines. Thus, the citizens must be able to operate these machines effectively in order to ensure that the economic growth is sustainable, as it had been projected to be.

ReferenceHealey, J.F. (2011). Diversity and Society: Race, Ethnicity, and Gender. Newbury Park, CA: Pine Forge Press. Print