갈등에서 헤게모니로 ― 피아트 노동자들과 경영진의 관계 변화, 1969~1980 ―

Abstract

The transformations of capitalism in the 1970-80s are often described as a neoliberal or post-Fordist turn. The process was long and complicated, and whether it can be well explained by such concepts remains an open question. This essay attempts to trace the origins of such historical process through the micro-analysis of the Fiat factories, including Mirafiori in the 1970s. This decade, which began with the “Hot Autumn”, was known as “permanent conflict” inside factories, where managerial authority fell and workers’ autonomy expanded. However, the unions and the left failed to be congruent with such workers’ spontaneity, adhering to the traditional principle of the “workers’ centrality”. Meanwhile, Fiat showed a vision for the technological revolution like decentralization and robotization, and paved the way to the managerial revolution based on the formation of a new generation of managers. Yet, a careful look reveals the fact that such revolutions could come true only after the reversal of power relations, in other words, the defeat of the workers and the recovery of managerial authority. Indeed, the industrial conflicts at Fiat can be illustrated as a hegemonic struggle. Fiat’s management sought to govern factories by reimposing everyday rules, while building consensus in civil society against terrorism and culture of violence. To sum up, the dramatic sequences from “61 Layoffs” to “March of 40,000” was the process by which Fiat transformed industrial conflicts into the hegemony of capital.