Do chicote à caneta: controle do processo de trabalho e produção de vida social na Fábrica da Estrela (1808-2025)

Abstract

This research aimed to investigate the dynamics of labor, control, and the production of social life through a case study of Fábrica da Estrela, a state-owned weapons manufacturer founded in 1808 and located in the city of Magé, Rio de Janeiro. The study was based on the hypothesis that the institution acted as a central agent in the production of social life, exercising forms of control that extended beyond the productive sphere and shaped everyday life in its surroundings. Methodologically, the study adopted a qualitative approach, combining documentary sources and field research, including visits to the factory and eight semi-structured interviews. The theoretical framework mobilized an articulation of Classical Sociology with 20th-century Sociology of Work and studies on national industrialization, focusing on investigations of state-owned companies and factories with worker villages. The observations demonstrate that the trajectory of Fábrica da Estrela synthesizes the contradictions present in the process of the Brazilian industry's formation, revealing how control, even when cloaked in care, can generate dependence, and its absence, vulnerability.