Braverman and the contribution of labour process analysis to the critique of capitalist production - Twenty-five years on

This paper seeks to reassess the contributions made by Braverman and subseq uent labour process writers to the critique of capitalist production. Brave rman's main motivation lay with the subversion of pro-capitalist ideologies . He identified deskilling tendencies with the capitalist imperative of acc umulation in order to promote the case for revolutionary change. The labour process debate that Braverman helped to initiate, while successful in broa dening understanding of concrete work relations, has difficulties in excava ting the necessary interconnections of capitalist alienation and exploitati on. In particular, there is a problem in separating out the different level s of analysis that link essence and appearance in the work context. Narrow focus on the labour process creates unnecessary conceptual confusion about the specificity of capitalist production, and also condones an unduly pessi mistic political agenda on the prospects for transcending capitalist domina tion. In eschewing the important interconnections between workplace organis ation and capitalist social relations,labour process analysis risks inverti ng the critical intent of Braverman's Labor and Monopoly Capital by promoti ng the continuation of the extant social order.