The implementation of the factory system in the silk industry: an analysis from the perspective of Andrew Feenberg
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26563/dobras.v19i46.1996Keywords:
Seda, Indústria da Seda, Ciência, Tecnologia e Sociedade (CTS), Andrew Feenberg, Teoria Crítica da TecnologiaAbstract
This paper analyzes the implementation of the factory system in the European silk industry from the perspective of Science, Technology, and Society (STS) studies, with emphasis on the theoretical contributions of Andrew Feenberg. The aim is to unveil how technological and organizational choices in silk production reflected and reinforced power relations, impacted labor and workers, and how Feenberg’s concepts—such as instrumentalization, technical codes, formal bias, and operational autonomy—allow for a critical interpretation of these processes. The methodology involves a theoretical analysis applied to a historical case study, using bibliographic and documentary sources. The analysis demonstrates that the mechanization of silk, while boosting production, was guided by technical codes focused on control, standardization, and the reduction of labor costs. This orientation resulted in the de-skilling of artisans, the precarization of labor, and the loss of worker autonomy. Forms of worker resistance, although limited in their reach, are interpreted as a challenge to this rationality and as a demand for greater participation in technological decision-making. The article concludes that the case of the mechanized silk industry illustrates technology’s ambivalence, highlighting the need to guide current and future technological development by democratic values.
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![A imagem apresenta uma composição artística abstrata, dominada por tons intensos de vermelho, rosa e azul-escuro. Sobre as camadas de tinta e textura, há traços e manchas expressivos, com inscrições manuscritas sobrepostas, parcialmente legíveis. À direita, na vertical, aparece a palavra “[dossiê]” em letras brancas. A pintura tem aparência de uma mistura de cores vibrantes e gestos pictóricos, evocando profundidade e movimento.](https://dobras.emnuvens.com.br/public/journals/1/submission_1996_2696_coverImage_pt_BR.jpg)
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