Jenseits von Kohle und Stahl

In the 1970s, many Western European countries experienced an unprecedented structural transformation: the factories of old industries disappeared, millions of jobs were lost, once-thriving cities fell into crisis, and new social issues dominated the political agenda. What has become of the proud industrial citizen – of their jobs, career paths, and living quarters? How have social rights and political participation of workers changed as competition became global, management became lean, and financial capitalism became dominant? What ideas and ideologies accompanied this transformation?

Using the example of industrial work in Great Britain, France, and the Federal Republic of Germany, Lutz Raphael tells the extraordinarily complex and fascinating story of deindustrialization in Western Europe. It lasted three decades, was accompanied by an increase in productivity and living standards, but also brought about low wages, growing inequalities, and a crisis of democratic representation. And perhaps most importantly: its effects are still felt today – as a prehistory of our post-industrial present. This book helps to understand it.