1st Edition
Blue-Collar Workers in Eastern Europe
First published in 1981, Blue-Collar Workers in Eastern Europe deals with the attitudes and political disposition of the East European working class. In particular, it provides the first analysis of the growing assertiveness of the industrial proletariat from which East European governments claim to derive their legitimacy, and on whose behalf, they profess to rule. These governments are increasingly hesitant in the use of force, yet they lack the economic means of meeting their workers’ demands.
The chapters that make up the book fall into three main categories. About one third are issue oriented and analytical, dealing with the role, economic condition, attitudes, social and demographic characteristics and political involvement of the workers. These are followed by case studies of workers in several countries. Finally, two chapters explore the policy implications of the workers’ new-found assertiveness and assess the international policy options and dilemmas of both the Soviet Union and the West. This book covers all the major issues which brought about the widely publicised workers’ rebellion in Poland in the summer of 1980 and includes an assessment of that crisis and its sequels. It will attract a wide readership among students of the history and politics of Eastern Europe especially those interested in labour unions, socialist management, and comparative communism.
Acknowledgements Introduction Jan F. Triska and Charles Gati 1. Industrial Proletariat in Comparative Perspective Seymour Martin Lipset 2. Changing Social Structure and the Political Role of Manual Workers Paul M. Johnson 3. Political Attitudes and Activity Alex Pravda 4. Can a Party of the Working Class be a Working-Class Party? Ellen Turkish Comisso 5. Workers and Mass Participation in Socialist Democracy Jack Bielasiak 6. Aggregate Economic Difficulties and Workers’ Welfare Laura D’Andrea Tyson 7. Poland, 1980: The Working Class under ‘Anomic Socialism’ George Kolankiewicz 8. Workers and Power Walter D. Connor 9. Observations on Strikes, Riots and other Disturbances J. M. Montias 10. Poland: Workers and Politics Jan B. de Weydenthal 11. Czechoslovakia: a Proletariat Embourgeoise? Jiri Valenta 12. Hungary: the Lumpenproletarianization of the Working Class Ivan Volgyes 13. Romania: Participatory Dynamics in ‘Developed Socialism’ Daniel Nelson 14. Yugoslav Exceptionalism Bogdan Denitch 15. Workers’ Assertiveness and Soviet Policy Choices Jan F. Triska 16. Workers’ Assertiveness, Western Dilemmas Charles Gati Notes on Contributors Index
Biography
Jan F. Triska at the time of the original publication of this book was Professor of Political Science at Union College.
Charles Gati is a Senior Research Professor of European and Eurasian Studies at Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University.
“Professional scholars with a deep knowledge of East European societies examine how and why the development of socialism there has meant increasing conflict between the urban proletariat and its self-appointed vanguard, the communist leadership. Readers might wish to see more attention given to the crucial case of Poland, but the breadth of the coverage (all of Eastern Europe including Yugoslavia) ensures good background for judging the effects of Polish developments on the rest of the region.”
- John C. Campbell, Foreign Affairs, Spring 1982
