ABSTRACT
This chapter traces some of the underlying social and economic processes which characterise the postwar period generally and the last twenty years particularly. It considers the implications for the survival of a radical, collectivist politics, of the effective demise of its primary vehicle of expression in trades unions. The chapter explores the very structure of the working class itself has changed dramatically and that innovative and adaptive social organisations are emerging to replace and to an extent replicate the functions of trades unions in the communities of the South Wales coalfield. It describes that social class remains a key component of the self-identity of the region and that it contributes significantly to new strategies of collectivism and mutuality which are emerging in community based organisations. The saliency of class in structuring social identity in the region is also evident, although in complex interaction with both national and highly localised identities.
