Militancy and accommodation

Abstract

The first half of the book has demonstrated that there were two distinct optimal strike strategies in French coal mining, and that which of the two applied depended on whether the labor force was united or divided. The next two chapters are designed to demonstrate that the statistical results supporting this theory are not a methodological artifact, but instead have an observable empirical basis. In short, the regression equations are mirrored by the historical narrative. To some extent, the two strategies periodize into before and after 1923; thus, Chapter 7 primarily contains material from before World War I, while Chapter 8 mostly contains stories from the 1920s and 1930s. There were some unified labor movements after 1923, however, and some nascent schisms before 1923. These off-period accounts provide insight into the general characteristics of unity and division overall.