>the fact that there are more truck drivers than computer
>programmers is irrelevant if the computer programmers' work is changing
>supply chains in such a way that the truck drivers' conditions of work
>are being radically altered
Hey, I recognize that example.
But it's not irrelevant. All this talk of immaterial and affective labor obscures how much of work life is still about moving stuff around. In fact, while we're busily celebrating (or bemoaning) today's supply chains, the U.S. transportation system - ports, trucks, rail - is clogged almost to the breaking point now, and no one is eager to make the necessary investments to relieve the problem. Too much physical infrastructure, too much risk, too little immediate payoff. Aside from that, the immateriality story overlooks how many workers spend their days dealing with things, often very mundane things - unloading trucks, washing dishes, stacking shelves, inserting catheters, etc.
Doug