Technical Workers in an Advanced Society: The Work, Careers and Politics of French Engineers by Stephen Crawford

Abstract

TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 141 computerized searches that relieve the user of even comprehending their meaning. The reading of full cases is now all too rare. There really is more to the Katsh volume than this broad descrip­ tion of his general argument suggests. Consider the following thoughts on complex interactions between the material world and the world of ideas: Copyright ... is more than a means for protecting a property interest. It may be viewed as a response to a changing concept of authorship and to a condition of artistic and scientific progress that was largely absent before the print era. Obscenity laws surfaced not simply to suppress sexually explicit publications that were more widely available, but because morality was being redefined as law became secular and distinct from religious codes. . . . The definition of each legal doctrine implies a partic­ ular balance [among First Amendment concerns, property inter­ est, and social and moral values]. . . . The ultimate effect of the new communications environment will be a new kind of accom­ modation, a new balance, and a new meaning, [p. 171] There are also observations that are obvious once read and yet not often considered. Overall, this is a provocative and useful book. It builds on other literature in an open and imaginative way and clearly is worth reading for anyone interested in communications law and related issues of public policy. Almarin Phillips Dr. Phillips is Hower Professor of Public Policy and professor of economics and law at the University of Pennsylvania. He teaches in the regulatory and antitrust areas and has done extensive research on telecommunications policy. Technical Workers in an Advanced Society: The Work, Careers and Politics of French Engineers. By Stephen Crawford. New York: Cambridge Uni­ versity Press, 1989. Pp. viii + 284; tables, notes, appendix, indexes. $49.50. France may be considered the spiritual home of technocracy. It was in France that Saint-Simon and his followers created the intellectual underpinnings for the idea that technical experts are best suited to hold the reins of power. More than an abstract speculation, the technocratic ideal has come closest to realization in France, where the graduates of prestigious engineering schools have long played an important role in the governance of their country. France is therefore the logical place to look for confirmation of the theory that post­ industrial societies will be marked by the emergence of technical workers as a new economic and political elite. France is at the same 142 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE time a predominantly capitalist society and therefore provides a good place for testing the competing hypothesis that engineers are con­ stantly subjected to systematic deskilling and the diminution of workplace responsibilities. Technical Workers in an Advanced Society is based on a study of two French firms, one of them in a traditional metalworking industry, the other in the avant-garde electronics sector. The book’s basic data are derived from structured interviews conducted with 132 engineers and technicians at the two firms, supplemented by discussions with and observations of engineers at work and off the job. In addition to differentiating between types of enterprise, the study distinguishes engineers according to a hierarchical structure that ranges from engineers with diplomas from prestigious schools to technicians who have come up from the ranks of ordinary workers. Stephen Crawford’s assessment of the situation of French engineers provides support for neither the “technocratic” nor the “proletarian­ ization” thesis. Many of Crawford’s conclusions tally with those of Robert Zussman and Peter Whalley, former associates who have studied American and British engineers, respectively. As a group, French engineers have not suffered from deskilling. To the contrary, they are usually treated as valuable employees whose work continues to require high degrees of skill and responsibility. Yet contrary to the postindustrial thesis, engineers have not assumed a central role in their firms. Many make the passage into management; indeed, the prospect of a managerial career is one of the key determinants of their interests and sense of identity. But positions of power are achieved by engineers when they make the transition to management, not while they occupy the traditional role of engineer. This study makes a solid contribution to an...