The Signals of ’68: Alienation in Pre-crisis France (1972)

Interviews with four hundred employed males in France, and with a parallel sample of American workers, provide the basis for characterizing the alienation of French workers in the spring which preceded the “events of May” (1968). Various forms of alienation (e.g., powerlessness; social isolation, etc.) are examined, along with their likely correlates (e.g. political knowledge; organization membership; left-right political stance). Neither direct participation in the rebellion nor changes in the level of alienation could be monitored, hence the argument rests on (1) a depiction of the prior pattern of alienation, and (2) the plausibility that this pattern lends to various interpretations of the May events. The data suggest that “powerlessness” was the primary problem: (1) French workers, both manual and white collar, were conspicuously low in sensed control; (2) this powerlessness was expressed in a discriminating way (i.e., did not reflect a uniform French pessimism); (3) powerlessness, rather than work estrangement (or other alienations), correlated with the politically relevant variables (e.g., knowledge and membership); and (4) powerlessness (but not work alienation) was especially notable in the problematic political “center.” The findings are interpreted in the light of propositions about the importance of alienation in collective behavior, and questions are raised about the significance often imputed to work alienation.