ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the individualisation hypothesis on the basis of qualitative and survey research guided by the relational class theory which is centred around the Bourdieu concept of ‘field’. The working class has always been a central focus of discussions on social stratification and class. Class is defined not by single properties, but by practical class relations. This means that we cannot relate an individual to a class merely by measuring his or her properties and then forming groups of homogeneous standards of income, education, consumption, values, etc. Most theories of class and stratification only take into account the vertical axis. The values of personal autonomy, mutual help and work ethics point to the classic milieu of skilled labour which formed the core of the labour movements and their historical predecessors. The popular classes and the underclasses are not the only ones for which trade unions are important.'
