In the 1970s the economic and social foundations of Western Europe underwent an unprecedented
transformation. Old industries like coal and steel disappeared millions of people lost their
jobs and formerly flourishing towns and cities went into decline. Traditional political agendas
gave way to new social problems and concerns. What happened to industrial citizens - their
workplaces their careers and their homes? How did social rights and political participation of
workers change when markets became global management lean and financial capital dominant? What
ideas and ideologies framed these dramatic changes in society? How did companies change and how
were personal skills and work tasks were re-invented under the impact of new technologies? How
did workers - men and women - live through these decades of uncertainty and upheaval? Lutz
Raphael reconstructs the highly variegated story of deindustrialisation in Western Europe with
a particular focus on Britain France and West Germany. Extending over three decades this
transformation was accompanied by significant rises in productivity and consumerism but it
also came at a heavy cost ushering in many low income jobs growing inequality and a crisis of
democratic representation. Its legacy is everywhere around us today - it is the transformation
that has shaped our world.
