Understanding Conflict in the Labour Process: The Logic and Autonomy of Struggle

The labour process debate had been dominated by arguments about deskilling. This particular focus has strengthened the already powerful tendency towards the emergence of what may be termed a revisionist orthodoxy in which the contingencies of work relationships are highlighted and the error of assuming a logic of capitalist development is criticised. As Salaman (1986: 114) puts it, ‘within the Labour Process tradition, actors were omniscient, conscious strategists, aware of, and responding to, the rationalities of Marxist analyses of work organizations within capitalism.’ Many of the chapters in this volume reflect a counter-reformation that tries to restore some of the insights that have been lost or confused in the rise of revisionism. Friedman shows that the concept of managerial strategy is useful, and indeed essential. Thompson argues for a politics of production. This chapter concentrates on the analysis of conflict.