ABSTRACT
Butclearly,asrecenteventsanddevelopmentshaveshown,this postulatedconnectionbetween'occupationalcommunities'(ofthe sortspecifiedabove)andradicalviewsishighlyproblematic. Foronethingradicalness,howevermeasured,isnolongerthe prerogativeandpreserveofminersanddockers;affluentworkers, workersonassemblylinesandwhitecollarworkers,havealldemonstratedthat,atleastintermsofindustrialactiontheyareaware oftheexistenceofconflictinginterestsinsociety.Ofcourse itallratherdependsonwhatistakentobea'radical'attitude ordefinitionandhowsuchconsiderationsrelatetopractical actionsthataredirectlypoliticalorcanbeseentohavepolitical implications.Butisitclearthatthesortof'them-us'conceptiontypicallyattributedtomembersofoccupationalcommunities mayrevealanawarenessofconflictofinterest,butmaydefinethe 'us'groupentirelyintermsofthelocalityorcertainworkor occupationalgroupswithinit.Suchaparochialismwouldbe,of course,entirelyantipathetictotheuniversalism(allworkers,or, atleast,allmembersoftheoccupation)thatatrueworking-class consciousnessisusuallyheldtoinvolve.
