[lbo-talk] Contradictions of contemporary working class consciousness

Carrol Cox cbcox at ilstu.edu
Wed Aug 14 05:52:07 PDT 2013


"This is mainly a consequence of the construction of the social safety net and collective bargaining system and the steady improvement in living standards in the wake of the economic depression and political instability of the 30's. This in turn has allowed union leaders to retain the loyalty of the majority of their active and passive members and to easily fend off challenges from left activists seeking a more radical direction. Where there have been rank-and-file rebellions, these have typically resulted in elevating leaders who have inevitably shared the worldview and replicated the behaviour of the faction which they replaced. The more recent decline in real wages and job security as a result of organizational and technological change and!

outsourcing has made workers less rather than more inclined to join unions and challenge their employers."

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Perhaps. But at least consider the possibility of exactly the reverse being true. Working-class militancy increased in the 1960s and early 1970s; it has decreased as conditions have worsened. It seems mere dogmatism rather than real historical analysis to assume that higher living standards promote satisfaction, lower living standards the opposite.

Militancy requires free time.

Carrol



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