5 HOW PRONOUNCED IS PEOPLE’S CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS? QUICK FACTS „ Socio-cultural(semi-)professionals(43 per cent), production workers(37 per cent) and service workers (39 per cent) score highest when it comes to class con­sciousness. However, many people lack a sense of com­munity and an understanding that more can be achieved through solidarity, both in politics and socie­ty. „ Trade unions are indispensable when it comes to the assertion of workers’ interests – at least 60 per cent of respondents in all occupational classes agreed with this. However, only 18 per cent of respondents are trade un­ion members. In the production sector, however, more than a quarter are union members. IS THE WORKING CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS OF ITS OWN CLASS? The structural existence of a working class, together with a subjective sense of belonging does not automatically have consequences at the practical level, either politically or so­cially. Or to put it another way, there is no working class without class consciousness. But what is the state of class consciousness in Germany? What factors result in a strong class consciousness and who has it? If policies are to be made(once more) for the working class we need answers to these questions. Awareness of being part of a social structural group with a common identity is a condition for collective action. Interest representation, for example, by trade unions, is one result of this sense of community. Obstructing that is what Andreas Reckwitz calls the»singularisation of the world of work«(Reckwitz 2019: 181ff). In jobs in cultural and knowledge work employees and their supervisors strive for the special and the outstanding – in other words, for what distinguishes them from others. As a result, there is a loss of solidarity. This is also reflected in the kind of work characteristic of so-called»routinised services«(ac­cording to Reckwitz, this is comparable with the occupa­tional classes of service workers and production workers): »I don’t think that solidarity even really exists any more … Yes, these days it’s basically every man for himself. Everyone is just trying to get by.« (Sewage treatment and energy plant installer, 60 years of age, Bochum) At the same time, the replaceability of the individual is characteristic of these occupational classes. This means that while on one hand these occupational classes are los­ing cohesion and solidarity, on the other hand they are gaining nothing by way of a unique selling point to make up for their lost community. »It depends a lot on the sector, in my opinion. In other words many jobs are going in the direction of demanding absolute expertise and specialisation, with training, while for others it doesn’t make any difference, anyone can do it.« (DIY store salesman, 33 years of age, Bochum) »Yes, I don’t think that any jobs are as secure as they used to be. They can kick you out absolutely any time. (Saleswoman in the textile industry, 57 years of age, Bochum) »Nowadays the basic view is that anyone can be re­placed easily. That’s just how it is. No one is indis­pensable.« (Catering service staff, 29 years of age, Hamburg) There is thus no space for collective agency in production and service jobs. A common class identity could fill this void. In order to test the extent to which such class con­sciousness still exists in the German population an index was developed to measure it, based on an index developed – after E.O. Wright – by the DFG research project»Class Structure and Class Consciousness in the Federal Republic of Germany«(Erbslöh et al. 1987). We have reproduced this index with the following questions: Question 1: What if there was a long strike for better wag­es and working conditions that had a massive impact on daily life in Germany. What kind of outcome would you be hoping for? — The workers achieve a large proportion of their de­mands. — The workers achieve some of their demands, but also make major concessions. — The workers achieve only a few of their demands. — The workers return to work without achieving their de­mands. — ** Don’t know/No answer. FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG 35