Counteracting Factors: The Unmaking and Remaking of Working Classes in Europe

Abstract

Drawing on the works of E. P. Thompson, Beverly Silver, and Rosa Luxemburg this article explores the unmaking of European working classes from the 1970s until today. This unmaking was a response to the challenges that labour and new social movements represented to capital rule from the late 1960s until the later 1970s. Yet, the success of weakening workers by unmaking the social fabric and the institutions upon which their bargaining power rested produces discontent and resistance. The article also addresses the question whether workers’ experiences in diverse acts of resistance are laying the foundation for the making of new working classes in Europe.