The contradictions of class and ideology among argentine laborers and employees

Abstract

This article compares Argentine trade union laborers' and employees' notions of class and ideology. The research findings were based on one-to-one structured, but openended interviews with 110 rank and file workers of Greater Buenos Aires between 1985 and 1986. Rather than a study of union structure or labor leadership, it fleshes out workers' views beyond the factory walls and office windows. The research depicts the complex, seemingly contradictory, variety of social-democratic, liberal, and conservative values and attitudes carried by the Argentine working class. Peronism remains the ideological anchor of many workers who, nevertheless, consider themselves centrist, left or right. They are centrist in their support of a liberal-capitalist economy, left in their espousal of markedly better income distribution for workers, and right in the defense of their communities and neighborhoods. Workers' historical connections, cultural outlooks, and educational levels impact heavily upon their views of democracy and sense of class.