Individual Morality and Industrialized Work: Some Theoretical Considerations

Abstract

Discussions about the potential for and limits of democratization deal primarily with transformations of institutional structures, but also reflect individual prerequisites for creating and maintaining participatory government and administration. This is true not only for the old debates on political democratization, which were lively already among ancient Greek philosophers, but also for the more recent controversies on the democratization of work. One of the qualities demanded of an active democrat as early as Socrates is what may be labelled 'moral maturity'. Employing a concept of morality that emphasizes democratic principles, this article focuses on moral orientations required by present and future occupational work roles and career patterns, and on the respective socialization processes. At the same time it is intended as a contribution to an interdisciplinary social theory of individual moral growth.