People work. They work in all sorts of jobs: some manual, others technological, others intellectual. Each of them produces something, but that is no guarantee that their jobs will exist in the future. The ways we work are constantly being transformed; the industrial revolution, modernization of out-of-date practices and globalization have all played a role in these changes. This blog collects stories of people whose jobs will doubtlessly change, or even disappear, in a near future.
The cotton gin was a machine that changed the way the cotton industry functioned in the United States by allowing seeds to be removed from the cotton fibers rapidly and efficiently. This invention replaced hundreds of hours of labor required, and transferred these man-hours to the fields where cotton grew – unfortunately leading to a rise in the need for slaves.
This blog uses the cotton gin as a metaphor for the forces that influence the ways people spend their working hours.
Cotton Gin Stories - Informal Work in Latin America 