Routine Action, Reproduction of Social Relations, and the Place Market: Consett after the Closure

Abstract

Reproduction of social relations has been most problematic in communities undergoing drastic and sudden economic and social change. Through the experience of one such community, the town of Consett, County Durham, this analysis is an attempt to draw out the broader implications of this reproduction. Two particular policy measures are highlighted as expressions of the general aim of the reintroduction of the commodity form: a conventional reindustrialisation strategy through a local development agency, and initiatives sponsored by the Manpower Services Commission. Given the lack of success of such measures in terms of their stated objectives, the question of why they are actively accepted is addressed. The answer lies in the dominance of the work ethic for routine action, seen in Consett through the legacy of the company town and in the nature of the anticlosure campaign. More generally, the broader consequences of this acceptance of unemployment in the marketplace can be seen through the development of a place market, demonstrated with reference to North East England.