The air in Chicago was stiff with tension on the 04th of May 1886. Masses gathered together at the Haymarket Square holding signs of hope. The peaceful cries for an eight-hour workday shattered when chaos broke out. Following the flashes of dynamite, however, calendars across the globe wrote on a new day. The festival commemorating spring was rewritten as the day where laborers across the globe will unite. The 1st of May of the year 1890 saw the origin of the first International Labor Day or May Day.
Overview
In the modern world, many areas of study are active and growing. In the former half of the 19th century, Frenchman Auguste Comte proposed an idea which says that knowledge of a society can only be glimpsed through scientific investigation. Further implying that observation of the laws governing social stability and understanding them scientifically could bring about change within it. This attempted unification of science and society gave way to what would be known as sociology.
Studies showed a clear division among society based on education, employment, and income. Holding even in modern society, these categories or “classes” often held varying ideologies. The 19th century saw the emergence of many radical views. The most striking would be those of one of the founding fathers of sociology, German-born Karl Marx.
“The fall of the bourgeoisie and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable.”
By studying the economic positions of people in society, Marx defined the two terms as follows. The “bourgeoisie” were of a certain establishment in financial and cultural means, often portrayed to be in control of production. Those that were of the disposition of depending almost entirely on their physical strength were the “proletariats”.
Modern Trends to Sociology
With the rapidly growing industrialization and globalization, new trends in society started to emerge. The political destabilization in the 20th century saw a shift in the motivations of society. Ferdinand Tonnies discussed this in a simple distinguishment. The first being the natural will to act cooperatively, or “Gemeinschaft”, which symbolizes a community. And the second being “Gesellschaft” or the rational will to act, underlying the multitude of interactions of modern society.
This is complemented very well with Emile Durkheim’s theories on studying society as a biological being, an organism. Wanting to fulfill Comte’s ideas he went on to gather empirical data and statistics to form a scientific discipline of society. In his thesis, “The Division of Social Labor”, he points out how Tonnies’ theory can be used to explain how economic classes are formed within a society. He further develops it into identifying society as an organism where each class is a separate organ which is vital as a whole.
The Laborer
“There’s a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can’t take part! You can’t even passively take part! And you’ve got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels….”
Gathered at the stairs of the Sproul Hall in December 1964, activist Mario Savio, in his iconic speech mentions the above. Whilst the focus of these words were undergraduates, we could generalize these words to the whole of the labor force itself.
Throughout history, people have witnessed the economic and educational division led to many humanely unfair positions. Where in a not so long ago society, the proletariats, or in laymen terms, laborers were generally cast down for simply occupying that class in society. Currently, however, there is a spread of a more positive outlook towards them. It is of great importance to note that everyone is, human, and they all occupy a vital role that would bring about the collapse of society itself, if not done.
Labor day is a representation of where all laborers gather together to raise their voices to ensure that eight-hour workday remains. Thus, adding a stand against oppression and exploitation of the working class.
“….upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you’ve got to make it stop! And you’ve got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you’re free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!”
Labor in Sri Lanka: Present
As a developing country where a strong imprint of the bourgeoisie is actively present, it is important to consider the statistics of the current labor force. With 73.0% of the currently economically active males and 33.6% of that of females contributing to a Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) of 51.8%, labor day is of significant importance to Sri Lanka.
It can be further seen that the LFPR, when analyzed according to gender and educational qualification shows a clear difference. Male and female graduates contribute to the labor sector almost equally.
Labor in Sri Lanka: Future
With the spread of technology, we could assume that many sectors of labor will be inactive. As machines and mechanized processes see extensive use in place of human labor. At the same time, being a country with a very rich culture there are a plethora of traditional industries. If revived, these could prove to be of immense benefit to the economy and cultural memory of Sri Lanka.
By giving the labor force its proper recognition within society, we can see a shift in paradigms. As markets become more open to traditional practices such as rush and reed industrial products, which are parts of economic history. Thus an equilibrium can be established in moving forward with global economies. Simultaneously preserving our labor forces with demands for traditional products as well.
Laborers as Leaders
Shifting from one class in society to the other is a very arduous task. Dedication, commitment and many years of patience and hard work would make the lifestyle of one class better for the future generation. One such recent story, however, cut a mark above everyone else.
The Colombian “Lord of the Books”, Jose Alberto Gutierrez, who worked most of his life as a laborer at a recycling facility changed not only his life but the lives of thousands. He would rescue and restore millions of books that were discarded and distribute them among the society of a torn down country. This led to the enrichment of many lives, students without access to material, veterans returning from battle, and everyone in between. This is a very warming example of how laborers move on to inspire and instill hope into the hearts of others like them. A clear indication of the important and complex role they fulfill in society.
But we need not look that far. With the current outbreak, each and every one of us should be immensely grateful to the whole workforce fighting tirelessly beyond the eight-hour day to keep the country safe. And let us all remember that labor day necessarily need not be associated with politics, but is more of a celebration of perhaps the most important organ in this organism.
References:
01. Atkinson, S. et al., 2015. The Sociology Book. First ed. London: Dorling Kindersley Limited
02. Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2018. Department of Census and Statistics (2019).
Image Courtesies:
01. Featured image: https://bit.ly/35nx507
02. Image 01:https://bit.ly/2SjULgF
03. Image 02: Figure 3.3, Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2018 (Page 10)
04. Image 03: https://bit.ly/2SjMlFT