ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the development of Belgian socialism and interest-group politics by comparing three cities, each with its own distinctive local politics, economic structure, and class relationships. The three strikingly different Socialist movements in the three cities of Ghent, Brussels, and Liege demonstrate the multiple power relationships and cultural identities that shaped working-class movements. A long tradition of historical and social scientific literature has seen the development of a militant, cohesive working class as the natural outcome of European workers' experience during industrialization. The most striking feature of Ghent was the organizational density and richness of its native working-class life and the success of the Socialists in utilizing the organizational life as a path to power. Paternalism and repression by employers simplified class relationships to a clash between workers and employers. Working-class solidarity, based on workers' shared economic experience, clearly acted as a powerful unifying force.
