ABSTRACT
This part conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters. The part shows that entire postwar labor-management political scene offers some mixed evidence that there has been a general expansion of labor-management political activity, but with no clear signs of any marked acceleration. It discusses in some detail the reasons why a viable labor party has never been formed in the country, and any ideas of a monolithic labor movement “capturing” one of the existing parties seems equally fanciful. The part is concerned with the possible relation between increased union political activity and internal democracy as it reflects membership interest and participation in union affairs. It explains the question of whether or not there might be some relation between what appeared to be a new “business in politics” movement and the recent “hardening” of management attitudes in collective bargaining noted by several observers of the American labor-management scene.
