Injustice and Solidarity in the Dynamics of Collective Action

In the theoretical chapter we identified in the contradictions of the capitalist labour process and the solidarity built into workplace cooperation the necessary conditions for collective action. This was important theoretically for two main reasons. First, it was a measure to go beyond contingent reconstructions that, while valid for enriching our understanding of the role of specific factors in the support of workers’ collective action, were not able to offer generally applicable explanations. Second, it was a way to avoid theorization based on subjective concepts, such as injustice, that while relevant in a trade union, organizational perspective, are not consistent with a general theory of collective action and thus fundamentally contributed to capital mystification of social reality. But it was also important methodologically. On the one hand, assuming that the conditions necessary for worker mobilization are set within the totality of the tendencies and counter-tendencies produced by the capitalist system of production was a guarantee against methodological individualism. On the other, starting from this structural basis, we could have shown the logic behind the interconnectedness of different factors and how these are shaped by conflicting forces within the system, producing different outcomes in terms of collective action.