British Manual Workers:
From Producers to Consumers, c.1950–2000
Avner Offer
Abstract
A large majority of the labour force were manual workers in 1960. As
voters, they had electoral power to pursue collective goods. As producers they
were able to disrupt production. The majority left school with no
qualifications. Their human capital consisted of skills specific to particular
production processes. These became obsolete with de-industrialization, and with
the large rise in secondary and higher education. Educated workers relied more
on individual bargaining power, and less on collective goods. Casting workers
as consumers rather than citizens or producers punished those with low
purchasing power, it de-legitimized producer
collective action and justified low wages. Poverty increased and relative wages
fell. Rising productivity was partly offset by rising house prices and longer
household working hours. Council-house sales enfranchised a minority and
penalized the rest. The majority continued to identify as working class, but
their culture was discredited by market liberalism and consumerism.
Keywords: manual
labour, human capital, skills,
consumerism, housing, market liberalism