From Split Labour Market to Ethno-Class Consciousness: Bringing Sociology Back In

Abstract

In the previous chapter I reviewed the main currents of opinion regarding the two issues which have concerned us in this study: the failure of Jewish workers to gain access to modern, mechanised industry and the evolution of the Bund in an increasingly nationalist direction. In this chapter I will present my own analysis of these two phenomena and will argue that the ideological development of the Bund can most plausibly be explained as reflecting the ethno-class consciousness of Jewish workers, a consciousness which, in turn, was shaped by the realities faced by these workers in the labour market.