Query: The Political Economy of the Beeper

[John K. Taber]

Frances Bolton (PHI) wrote:
> 
> Hoping someone might have feedback/thoughts/possible resources for
> something I'm working on these days.
> 
> I'm working on a paper exploring the various ways beepers work in
> US capitalist economies. I'm using a few examples. (1) beepers as
> surveillance devices within a workplace--thinking here of a factory floor
> where workers can always be reached by bosses. This can be
> characterized as the Panoptic beeper. (2) Beepers in the 24/7
> office--thinking here of those poor souls who can always be reached by
> co-workers, clients, and supervisors via cell phones, beepers and email.
> I'm lumping these together because they are both examples of employees
> being surveilled and controlled. I think I can do a straightforwad
> Foucauldian analysis of these. Now, example (3) is turning out to be
> tricky for me. This is the beeper and the gangsta. I'm looking at
> the role of beepers in the drug trade. Unfortunately, this is the main
> focus of the paper. Now, I think I can do a bit on beepers (and
> underground economies) and flexible accumulation. I can do a bit on
> employment opportunities in inner cities leading to involvment in the
> drug trade. I can do a bit on beepers as surveillance--police perhaps
> looking more closely (i think this might be more of an historical point)
> at young black men with beepers than without.
> 
> If anyone could recommend any good *articles* on postfordism that would be
> really helpful. Also, does anyone know anything about the political
> economy of the US urban drug trade? I haven't been able to locate anything
> on drug-dealing and wireless technologies--don't think it exists so i'm
> probably going to have to qualify that section with "popular
> perception..."
> Does this even make sense? At the very least, I have a good title.
> 

I can only tell you what I know first hand. The company I work for
uses beepers to get night and weekend work out of its employees so
that it does not have to employ and pay a swing and night shift.

The company does give us compensation, but it's more an insult than
compensation.

In the company I work for the beeper is used for exploitation pure
and simple. Controlling and keeping tabs on us is not a factor.

Nothing is more resented than the beeper. On the other hand, peer
group pressure forces one to accept his/her turn at the beeper. You're
just not one with your mates if you don't. It's that curious thing
of internalizing the demands of management that employees have.

I know nothing about the drug culture, I'm too old for that.