Technological Advance, Organizational Structure, and Underground Fatalities in the Upper Michigan Copper Mines, 1860-1929

The social consequences of technological change have been the focus of much commentary and debate. Various social scientists and humanists have characterized technology either as "hero" or as "villain," with advocates emphasizing the social benefits of technological change and detractors stressing the social costs. Nowhere are these divergent viewpoints articulated more clearly than in discussions of the effects of technological change on working conditions. On the one hand, it has been argued that changes in production technology have made work less repetitive, more responsible, and, more important, safer. On the other hand, a view of industrialization that emphasizes technologyinduced unemployment, underutilization of human capital, reductions in worker skills, and exposure to new hazards has gained support in recent years.'