THE FUTURE OF WORK IN NORTH-AMERICA - GOOD JOBS, BAD JOBS, BEYOND JOBS

No democratic society is sustainable that refuses to face and deal with the basic needs of its citizens. Rapid technological change and the globalization of economic activity are restructuring the North American economy, and with it the nature and future of work in the USA and Canada. There is now a clear, though barely articulated question as to whether secure, full-time, adequately waged employment will be available to much of the North American workforce, at least over the next 30-60 years, or whether 'jobless growth', underemployment and 'contingent' employment will become the norm, as happened first in the UK and is increasingly the trend in other industrialized nations. This article offers an overview and evaluation of various policy options for dealing with changing patterns of work in North America. The aim here is to further the search for democratic approaches to these new realities so that North America can maintain both sociopolitical and economic viability, and do so without sacrificing its environmental 'capital'.