How might workplace reforms have altered marxist predictions of world revolution?

Answer 1

Marx lived in a world where most employees were unskilled factory workers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proletariat

Since the supply large, the factory owners didn't have to treat them particularly well, so Marx predicted that they'd have the incentive to revolt and the numbers to succeed.

Now, in the developed economies, most workers have significant education and skills and knowledge have been getting more important, not less.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_e…

That means you can't replace people as easily and so have to treat them better.

You can see this most clearly in the rate at which real wages have been changing:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/28/busine…

On average, wages have not been going up with productivity, but if you look athousehold income, you see that the income for the top 40% has been rising; it is the income for the bottom60% that hasn't:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:United…

(from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_ineq… )

So while the bottom 60% may still have the incentive, they have far more opposition and so probably don't have the numbers.

That is, while they are salaried, most of the people in the upper 40% would still act as petite bourgeoisie even though they don't fit the original definition of being self-employed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petite_bour…

But whether the knowledge economy will continue or whether computers take over much of the knowledge work too is something no one can predict.