Braverman and Class Composition

Class Struggle Readings of the Labor Process

Abstract

Braverman’s Labor and Monopoly Capitalism has had a complicated and enduring legacy with research on the labour process, including shaping Labour Process Theory (LPT) as an academic area of study. Fifty years on, the debates within and beyond universities have continued on the changing nature of the labour process and the political implications. As LPT becomes a more accepted part of university institutions, this opens up important questions about the connections to Braverman and Marx, as well as wider politics and the issue of intervention. This article starts by discussing the importance of the labour process, both to academic debates, as well as workers trying to make sense of their own work. It returns to discuss Braverman’s unfinished contribution, reflecting on the project the book formed a part of. The main contribution of this article is to put forward a class composition reading of Braverman, drawing attention to a class struggle reading of the labour process. In doing so, it contributes to ongoing debates in LPT about the politics of research.