ABSTRACT
The process of industrialization does not necessarily entail an inexorable progression toward greater concentration of productive capacity, increasing division of labor and mechanization. Rather, it entails flexible accommodation to local, national and international circumstances. The work relationships in Dona Flora’s firm are representative of both the range of ties required in the day-to-day operation of an artisan firm and the mutability of the work relationships over time necessary for the survival of both owners and workers. While, at the extreme, the owners’ involvement in running a factory may entail the constant meddling described by Estes, it may also take more benign forms, such as the active participation in soccer games. Again the Salases’ firm is not exceptional in this regard, although in larger factories the custom of the owners and workers participating in soccer games may be on the wane.
