Dimensions of collectivism: occupation, community and the increasing role of memory and personal dynamics in the debate

Abstract

This essay argues that the notion of there being a decline in collectivism does not adequately engage with a whole new set of initiatives within labour process theory on collectivism in its various forms. These debates demonstrate how diverse social influences and experiences, and the memory of previous experiences and collective endeavours, are essential features that must be acknowledged in terms of their implications. There are series of interventions on occupational identity, the everyday lives of workers, gender and ethnic relations and the experience of work that nourish our understanding of collectivism as a more complex and broader concept. Furthermore, how features and relations are mobilized, linked and developed is becoming a vital feature of how collectivism should be understood. It is argued that the nature of these relations needs to be a greater focus of the debate if we are to develop a more dynamic view of collectivism, and a more relevant one.