 When teachers took strike action in NZ on September 15 they once again demonstrated their leading role in the working class movement and, with that, the changing nature of class in capitalist society.
In the last 30 years, neo-liberal economic theory has been triumphant. By smashing the traditional strongholds of union militancy in the blue-collar working class – miners, railway workers, freezing workers etc, they were able to claim that the working class as such no longer existed. The decline in manufacturing relative to service industries in the first world was cited as proof that the old Marxist idea of a ruling class and a working class was a relic of the 19th century. The expansion of 'professional' jobs, like teachers, nurses, and technicians of all kinds was seen as the fulfilment of capitalism's promise to create a massive middle class.
But in the last decade in New Zealand, it has been the white-collar professionals - teachers and nurses - who have won above-average pay rises, through traditional working class strike action, through solidarity, not individual bargaining.
In one sense it is obvious – teachers work, often very hard, and create value, so of course they are workers. In another sense, though, most teachers would not see themselves as part of “the working class”, and many manual workers think of teachers as middle-class professionals.
There are two elements at work – the objective reality of teachers' position in the economy and the subjective reality – the culture or consciousness of people. The objective reality is that teachers are no longer a privileged group. The mass expansion post war of public education created a demand for thousands of new teachers, which led in turn to the mass-production of education. This, coupled with the influx of women, who are routinely underpaid, into the profession, led to the 'proletarianisation' of the profession – wages and working conditions being held at a working class level. The reality of mass education also meant trade unions, solidarity and strike action were the best way to defend teachers pay and conditions, and more broadly, to defend education as a profession.
However, culture and consciousness matter. Many teachers still see themselves as professionals and identify readily with real estate agents, doctors, lawyers and other professionals whose work is more often organised as small businesses, and who, being higher paid than other workers, are often able to buy rental properties or stocks and shares – capital, in short – which allows them to appropriate some of the wealth created by other workers, through rent or share dividends for example. So long as they identify subjectively with these groups, they are unable to effectively fight the real threats to their living standards, education, and to society in general.
Teachers occupy a strategic place in the economy and are the largest, best organised bloc in the working class. Their power is potentially enormous and pivotal. It's our job to build consciousness of the real class relations that hold us all back.
Mike T |
