Over the last twenty years the concept of a labour aristocracy has heen the most influential framework used to explain industrial and social history. This text argues that the concept has inherent failings and must now be abandoned. The book tackles two fundamental issues: the effect of occupation on social and political values and actions; and the question of whether a male-centred perspective is adequate to explain the course of working-class history.

Chapters one to four critically review acknowledged authorities to expose the weakness of the classic theory and establish the alternative perspective. Chapters five to eight analyse the work experience of a variety of secure and insecure workers to demonstrate the validity of the new argument. Chapter nine and the conclusion demonstrate the importance of women's paid and domestic labour, their establishment of community values and their control of consumption.