ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that technology and globalization have altered manufacturing so that in order to compete, industry has been forced to transform production. It also argues that it is critical to distinguish between what appears to be an increased fragmentation of the working class in the country and internationally and the way the working class is being re-formed as capitalism changes. If the new economy does indeed require higher level skills, a focus on educational reform is essential to maintain schooling’s role of providing access to the competition for jobs. Economic mobility and well-being will depend on mastery of new skills that will give workers entry to the higher-paying jobs. Workers in a Lean World makes a persuasive argument that at the juncture of history the fate of children in our nation’s cities and urban schools depends in good part on what is done to challenge the political and economic prerogatives exercised by the transnational corporations.
