Labour movements in a post-material world : a study into the continued relevance of labour movements in contemporary advanced industrial societies

This PhD Research examines the basic precept of postindustrial/post-materialist theory, exploring the relationship thatlabour movements have historically played in shaping contentiouspolitics as well as exploring the wider organizational frameworkupon which much of socially organized contention is arrayed today.Chapter one will seek to provide the context within which thedebates of social movement and post-materialist theories areconducted today. Chapter two will take a more consideredhistorical overview of labour or proletarian movements looking atthe ways and means by which labour movements becameconcretized in society. Chapter three explores specific historicalevents that have been driven principally by working class dissentin order to determine what values and ideals drove thesemovements. Chapter four looks at specific examples of supervalue-laden labour movement activity in the 20th century. Chapterfive investigates labour movement activities under the mostextreme forms of dictatorships in order to ascertain their primarymotivations. Chapter six analyses some of the material andtheoretical problems for the greater development of postmaterialistvalues within the wider labour movements. This thesisconcludes with an overall assessment of the significance and utilityof labour movements in the 21st century