Monopoly Capital
Braverman’s 1974 book Labor and Monopoly Capital popularized the idea that the degradation of work inflicted by technological development created a new middle class that was reskilled, but not necessarily better equipped. The 1974-75 period presented the first economic crisis in the U.S. since the great depression, after experiencing massive economic growth post-world war two. In experiencing this crisis, Braverman reasserted the importance of Marxist’s law of accumulation on the class polarization under conditions of monopoly capitalism, warning that neoliberal economies could experience a shrinking of the middle class.