The Evolution of Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Evolution of Work - Essay Example The significant changes in work ethic will be covered as well with relation to history and economy. The definition of work is the physical and/or mental efforts and other activities associated with the accomplishment of a specific duty. The applications of work in everyday life provide a more complicated meaning in part due to the constantly changing actions of humans themselves. This has caused historical context to become more important in the definition of the word. One noteworthy piece of history, which provided work, a new definition, was in the 15th and 16th centuries. The age of navigation was at its peak, and the colonial age became an integral part of history. In this time, work could be defined in two different ways. The first was through thte eyes of the colonizers themselves, and the other was through the eyes of those that were colonized. There was a plethora of work readily available about the western power, as well as in context of the un-colonized world at the time. I n respect to the western power, work was generally defined as parenthood. For these people, conquest was bringing civilization to what they perceived as an uncivilized world. Thus, the processes of conquests were important in the achievement of creating civilization among uncivilized people. The colonizers took the memories they had of their schoolmasters and used them, as they were the learned ones who were charged with the education of the uneducated and to show them a better life (Geddes). However, that definition of work that was exclusive in the eyes of the western power was masked. The plans of the colonizers sounded promising, as they promised a better life and way for the un-colonized people. They introduced the concept of civilization and education through their conquests as a primary source of bringing the life that they had experienced in the lands from which they came. The definition of work was not the same for those who were colonized. For the natives, the definition o f work as acculturation and conformity to their masters demands (Geddes). Although the promises of a better life through the development of the economy was seen as a compromise of the colonies, the benefits of this process being one-sided. This compromise was only beneficial to the colonizers. They began exploiting natural resources and introduced the idea and development of slavery. They took it upon themselves as a burden of their powers to civilize the native people and take the economic advantages they gained for themselves as part of a new development for their homeland (Geddes). Work for the natives ultimately meant the physical aspects of its definition. The natives were placed in forced labor, similar to the curve of the British Empire in India. Work for the colonized people was very hard, as they had to suffer the dictation of the colonizers along with the abuse of their masters (Geddes). As happens with historical progression, economic development and the definition of wor k became more diluted. Mercantilism became moot and capitalism began through the Industrial Revolution. It was in this time that the complications of work became evident through the new technology developing at the time. New machines were invented and introduced, allowing for mass production for the first time. This allowed them to produce products in greater volumes at lower costs. Capital investing and saving were being more strongly considered, and the introduction of wages for workers and profits for