Somers 1992 - Narrativity, Narrative Identity, And Social Action

8/13/2019 Somers 1992 - Narrativity, Narrative Identity, And Social Action

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Social Science History ssociation

Narrativity, Narrative Identity, and Social Action: Rethinking English Working-ClassFormationAuthor(s): Margaret R. SomersSource: Social Science History, Vol. 16, No. 4 (Winter, 1992), pp. 591-630Published by: Duke University Presson behalf of the Social Science History AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1171314.

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Narrativity,arrativedentity,andSocial Action: ethinkingnglishWorking-ClassormationMARGARET R. SOMERS

THENINETEENTH-CENTURYnglishworkinglass bears mostpeculiarburden nd embodies mostpeculiarparadox.LikeAuden's cademicwarriors hosparwith smiles ndChristiannames,"historians,conomists,nd ociologistsavepushedndprodded arlynineteenth-centurynglishworking eople intoprocrusteanolitical ositionso supportr disconfirmarx'spredictionsfrevolutionarylass onflictruptingromhe ontra-dictionsf apitalism. Manichaeanoncernocks he ebate ntoan impasse.Were arly ineteenth-centuryorkersevolutionaryor reformist? as there classstrugglenthe ndustrialevolu-tion? hequestionsemain nresolved.et, urelyt s thehistoryofEnglishworkingeoples hat as sufferedromhis urden fMargaret . Somers s assistantrofessorf sociology t theUniversityfMichigan.Herworknhistoricalociologyncludes The Uses ofComparativeHistoryn Macrosocial nquiry," omparativetudiesnSocietyndHistory22(2) April 980 (with hedaSkocpol), BeyondheEconomisticallacy:TheHolistic ocial Scienceof KarlPolanyi,"1984) in ThedaSkocpol, d., VisionandMethodnHistoricalociologywith redBlock), nd "Where sSociologyAfter he Historic urn?Knowledge ulturesnd Historicalpistemologies,"(forthcoming,993) in Terrence .Mcdonald, d., The Historic urn n theHuman ciences.A version f his ssaywas firstresentedtthe ocial ScienceHistory ssociationmeetingsn1989.The authorhanks eneeAnspach, loriaGibson,Matthew rice,Bill Sewell, ndespeciallyMarcSteinbergor heirruthlessriticisms;ndPatPreston or erheroicwordprocessing.Social ScienceHistory6:4 (Winter 992).Copyright I1992 ytheSocialScienceHistory ssociation.cc o145-5532/92/$I.50.

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592 SOCIAL SCIENCE HISTORYpraisingrburying arxismhroughompetingnterpretationsftheirarly tories?The burden as been madeheavier,moreover,ytheweightofcontinualxcoriationrom ll sidesof the deological errainfor he"refusal" fEnglishworkersopreciselyit ither f thecategoriesfproper evolutionaryrreformistehavior.ndeed,"why hepeculiaritiesftheEnglish?" as beenan intellectualcomplaintince hebirth f the heoryfclass.' t s theparadoxof this henomenon,owever,hatsmost triking:heyardstickagainstwhich heEnglishworkinglass s measuredpeculiar"was constructedy lassical ociologicalonceptionsfclass for-mation orwhich nglishworkingeople erved s theputativehistoricalmodel.Surely, omethings amisswhen heoriginalhistoricalctorswhose iveswere ppropriatedor theoreticalschema fclassformationre ubsequentlyudged evianty hatsametheory.The paradox nd theburden learly oint o a freshgenda.Rather han skingyet gainwhat xplains he"peculiarities"of theEnglishorthe"exceptionalism"f this r that ationalworkinglass),the ime ascometocall nto uestionhepecu-liaritiesfthis heoryhatudges s deviantach mpiricalase itaddresses.These observationsnd claims re at theheart f this ssay,which ims o offercriticalvaluationfclass-formationheory-a theoryhat eeks oexplain ow ndwhy heworkinglasscomestoact intheways hat tdoes.Inthis ethinkingf class-formationheoryam oiningwith ndbenefitingromhe riticalandhistoricalnergiesfmany ther tudentsf classformationand socialtheory.3y approach, owever, illhave particulartwist. will rgue hathemeans o chieve his evisedonceptionmust ethroughnengagementithhe onceptfnarrativend,more enerally,ith he onstitutivelaceofnarrativitynsocialtheory. yoverall im sto demonstratehe heoreticalndhis-toricalignificancefnarrativendnarrativityot nly or tudiesofworking-classormation,utfor ocial science esearchmoregenerally.4The relationshipetween arrativend thecoreproblemsfclass-formationheorys twofold. irst, will arguethat neparticulartory-the lassical toryfEngland's ransitionromtraditionalo modem ociety-is atthe oreoftheproblemsf



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RethinkingnglishWorking-Classormation593class-formationheory.hissinglemaster-narrativeas the ub-stantive essel hat arried he heoreticalnnovationsfthosewenowrecognizes foundersf the ocial sciences-AdamSmith,Ricardo,Marx,Mill,Durkheim, eber, reud.Ultimately,hisstoried imensionfmodem ocial sciencewas lostfromight,but t did not ose itssignificance.n a curiousnversion,henarrativef classicalmodernizationecamemerely subfieldfthe social sciencedisciplines"modernizationheory"-whichhas beenlongdiscredited,speciallyn its195os-6osincarna-tion),while n anutterlyragmentedormhe tory as abstractedinto the foundationsf class-formationheory.he conceptualandmethodologicalocabularyfthis heorys builton theseabstractedragmentsf he lassical arrativefEnglishocioeco-nomicdevelopment.heimplicationsreclear.Class-formationtheoryannot e successfullyevised na theoreticalasis lone.Instead,we must ecognize, econsider,ndchallengehepar-ticular ncodednarrative.ut fweaccept his s the ase, talsoseemsunlikelyhatwe can or should ttemptoescapealtogetherfrom henarrativeimensionf ocial xplanationSomers 990,1992a); thus,we must lsorethink,ehistoricize,ndultimatelyretellhat oundationaltoryf he nglish.5Thishistoricaleconstruction,owever, ust e accompaniedby a conceptual ne. After ll, the classicalstory f Englishsocioeconomicevelopmentasconstructed,ike ll narratives,through particularonceptualilter. hatfilter as the ocialnaturalismf the ateeighteenthnd nineteenthenturies-anattemptedpistemologicalscapefrom llwe associatewith is-toricity.nsocialnaturalism,emporality,patiality,elationality,andconcreteinkagesllgaveway othe bstractdeals fnaturalself-regulatingntities. utnothingouldhavebeenmore ronicandparadoxical:master-narrativefmodem nglish ociety asproducedhroughhe ens f self-consciously-indeed,elliger-entlyelf-conscious-antihistorical,ntinarrative,nti-relational,naturalisticonceptualrame.6 s a result,hefoundationaltorydeeply ncodedwithinmodem ocialsciencehas all theformalcomponentsf an analytic arrative-abeginningtraditionalsociety), middle crisisof the ndustrialevolution),nd anend resolutionntomodernity),s well as leading rotagonistsin actionclasses nstruggle)nd causalemplotmentthe ngineof industrialization,roletarianization).he only hingmissing



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594 SOCIAL SCIENCE HISTORYis conceptual arrativity-socialonceptshat an embrace is-toricity,ime, ndspace.Thestory's onceptualore-classes,society,raditionndmodernity-comprisesbstractions,nseenandatemporal.Theresultsrethe trange ybrid eunconsciouslyivewithtoday-a social science heoryprungrom vision fescapingthepast history)hat s nonethelessonstitutedn a narrativeframework. ndin thisparadoxicalombinationan be foundthe ource fmany f theproblemsfclass-formationheory.nthe ask frecognizingndrethinkinghemaster-narrativefthistheory e must hereforeeconstructistoricalndrelationalon-cepts. nthe ollowingages will ntroducehe wo entralermsofthisrevision: arrativedentityndrelationaletting. artexaminesecentheoriesfEnglishlassformationodemonstratethepresencef an encodedmaster-narrativend theparadoxicalproblemf this eing "denarrativized"conceptuallybstract)narrative.art addresses he onceptfnarrativenboth tsoldand tsnew ncarnations,ndpart examineshe onceptualm-plicationsfnarrativeor ocial science esearch. inally, artoutlines retoldtoryfEnglishlassformation.I. THE DENARRATIVIZED NARRATIVEOF CLASS-FORMATION THEORY:THE CASE OF THE ENGLISHStudies fEnglishworking-classracticesre mbeddedndbur-denedbythetheoryfclass formation.et theparadoxs thatencodedwithinhetheorys a denarrativizedaster-narrativeaboutthe ong-termrocesses fEnglish ocioeconomic evel-opment. uch a naturalisticenderingf historys abstractedinto a generalmodelof therelationshipetween ndustrializa-tion, roletarianization,he irthf lass ociety,nd he xpectedbehavioralesponse f theworkinglasses.Whetherhe erm sworker,ocialactor, ndustrialization,ulture,ociety,rclass,each elementfthetheoryearswithint themaster-narrative.Andfrom his bscured utpowerful aster-narrativeomes heproblemhat rives ll studies fworking-classormation:hythefailureor ncoherency,eculiarity,rdeviance) fthe real"workinglasses?This sectionrgues hat he ncoherenciesndpeculiaritiest-



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RethinkingnglishWorking-Classormation595tributedo actualworking-classracticesre notthoseof theEnglish r anyother istoricalase. Rather,hey re the nco-herenciesfclass-formationheory.he ncoherencytems rominferringteleologicalredictionclass n tself-classortself rworkingeoples' objectiventerests ill ventuallyranslatentorevolutionarylass consciousness)otfrom genuine heoreti-calgeneralizationut rom wrongheadedaster-narrativeasedon an antihistoricalonceptualramework.here remany ewstories obewritten;hework frenarrativization,owever,irstrequires arefulttentionotheways nwhich revioustudieshavebeenconfinedy lass-formationheory.The vast iteraturenEnglishworking-classormationnsoci-ology ndhistorys typicallyroupedround hree xplanatoryparadigms. he Englishworkinglass inthe ndustrialevolu-tionwaseither:(I) reformistSmelser959;Perkin969;Thomas1970;Musson 976), 2) revolutionarynthe 830s ut uppressedbytheI850s (E. P. Thompson966;Foster 974;Saville1988),or 3) "backwardlooking"ndcomposed fartisansnotfactoryworkers) howere reactionaryadicals"Calhoun 981;Bauman1982).With ll injustice uly cknowledged,amnotgoing oaddressither he mportantomplexitiesithinrthe ifferencesamong hese hreepproaches;heirommonoints, owever,reof nterest.Each of hese pproachess a differentnswer othe ame ues-tion:why idthe nglish orkinglass nthendustrialevolutioneither onformo ordeviate romhe evolutionaryehaviorre-dicted y lass-formationheory?hat sto ay,why id hework-ing lassnot ct n"classlike"ways?And nallthree aradigms,thequestions addressed ot oempiricalases ofvariation,uttodeviationsrom prediction.hy,nother ords, idthe lassin itself-classor tself redictionail?Eachapproachmbodiesthe ameprediction-namely,hat nder ormalonditionshereshould e a causal ink etweenhe ocietal nd conomichangesofthe ndustrialevolutionclass n tself)nd he mergencefarevolutionarylassconsciousnessclassfortself).The maindifficultyith hispredictions that heEnglishworkinglass and ust bout llworkinglasses)haveresolutely"refused" obehaveproperly.etwhenfacedwith ivergencesbetweenbserved ehaviornd heoreticalredictions,cholars fclassformationave ll toorarelyskedwhyworkersidwhathey



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596 SOCIAL SCIENCE HISTORYdidcomparedoother orkinglasses. uch strategyould aveledtoa healthy ultitudefcompetingmpiricalxplanationsobe tested ndrefined.nstead,he nonrevolutionary"ehaviorfworking eoplehasbeenredefinednto roblemsfdeviance ranomalousness.et asweknow rom ichael olanyi1958] ndT. S. Kuhn 1970]),once an empiricalindingasbeendefinedas anomalous,t annot eused otest r alsifytheory.nstead,it is thetheorynd thepredictionhat emain ristinePolanyihas calledthispositionfprivilegeneof "tacitknowledge"),while ountlessalibis" aregeneratedor hedeviations.7hus,class-formationheoryas beenreduced o a measuringodusedto chastise he hortcomingsfworking eoples.Theresult asbeena scholarlyreoccupationithwhat have lsewherealledanepistemologyf bsenceSomers989a).Several cholars fworking-classormationave riticizedustthis roblem. atznelsonndZolberg1986), nparticular,avetried o reframehetheoryy ettisoninghe onstrictingeleo-logicalexpectationuilt nto he oncept fclass consciousnessandconvertinghe xplanandumovariationsnclass formation.Their ffortsavebeenheroic utunsatisfactory.or heproblemof failed xpectationsillnotbe solved ychanginghedepen-dent ariable romevolutionarylassconsciousnesso variationsinworking-classispositions.heproblemiesmuch eeper: hetenacityfthepredictions inexorablyroundedn thetenacityof single epresentationalarrative.ndeed,most trikingboutall three heoriesfworking-classormations that hey re inessence hree ifferentersionsf he ame tory,hats,three if-ferentendings"othe amebeginningndmiddle f n encodedmaster-narrative.There s, moreover, ghostly amiliarityo this narrative.Simply,t is thestoryfThe Industrial evolution-the mer-gence of an industrialapitalist ocietyfrom preindustrialast.Itis,ofcourse, storyold nmanydioms-the ransitionromfeudalism o capitalism,heemergencefmarketociety,heemancipationfcivil ociety romhe tate, he ncreasingivi-sion of labor, nd therationalizationfthemodemworld.Foreach,the ocietal ransformation-whethert scalled ndustrial-ization, roletarianizationrthedivisionf abor-ushersn the"birth fclasssociety."t s a storyhat aseconomic, olitical,and culturalomponents.n the conomic ealm t s a process



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Rethinkingnglish orking-Classormation97bywhich ommercialization,nincreasingivision f abor, ndtechnologicalevelopmentraduallyreakhe onds frelativelystatic reindustrialconomiesnto ndustrialnd apitalistrowth.Politically,t s the toryfthe mergencefthe iberal tate hatprovidesheframeworknd/orctivelyupportshenew aissez-faireconomynd ts ubsequentlassrelations.nd t s aprocessbywhich traditional"elationsretransformednto lass rela-tions, nd communitarianrtisanal ulturesrganized ymoraleconomiesresupplantedytheforce fnew lassalignments-fromhe breadnexus o thewagenexus."Rather handebatingwhetherworking-classehavior venshould e explained y he birth fclasssociety,"hese ifferentparadigmseflectnly hedifferentiews bouthow thework-ingclassrespondedoa presupposedausalprimacyfsocietaltransformation.ere sthedepthftheproblem:achtheorye-fines priorihe ame ndependentariable-proletarianizationandcapitalistociety. his eavesfor mpiricalesearchnly hehistorical ariationsf thisprocess.Katznelson's1986) theory,no less than heprevailingaradigmsfEnglishworking-classformation,ontinueso build na prioriausal rgumentnto hequestionndretainsy ssertionreciselyhat hichequiresem-onstration,amely,he ausalprimacyf a socialentity-prole-tarianizationor ndustrialization,rthe ransitionrom eudalismtocapitalism,rmodernization)-inxplaininghe ocialprac-tices fworkingeoples.The differentpproaches, oreover,onot epresentisagreementver he recise aturefthe ransfor-mation. achversionollowshe ame equence rom raditionalpreindustrialo modem ndustrialocietyomake tscase.8Andwhen ll is saidanddoneabout heparticularnterveningnflu-enceson socialaction-religious,moral, ultural,olitical,ndcommunityactors-each xplicitly akes he amepoint. irst,Harold erkin1969): "At somepoint etweenheFrench evo-lution nd the GreatReform ct,the verticalntagonismndhorizontalolidaritiesfclassemergedna nationalcalefromandoverlayheverticalonds ndhorizontalivalriesfconnec-tion nd nterest.hatmoment . saw thebirth fclass." NowE. P.Thompson1966): "When veryaution asbeenmade, heoutstandingact ftheperiod etween 79O nd1830 s thefor-mation ftheworkinglass. This srevealed,irst,nthegrowthofclass-consciousness:he onsciousnessfan identityf nter-



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598 SOCIAL SCIENCE HISTORYests s between ll these iverse roupsfworkingeople ndasagainst he nterestf otherlasses.And, econd,nthegrowthofcorrespondingorms fpoliticalndustrialrganization"pp.212-13). Finally,Craig Calhoun (I98I): "All were essentiallymovementsfthose nineteenth-centuryreactionaryadicals"]whowould ightgainsthe omingf ndustrialociety, hohadtraditionalommunitiesopreserve"p. 4).A sequential evelopmentromraditionalreindustrialocietyto industrialapitalistociety nda radical upturef the ateeighteenthndearlynineteenthenturyre thus heessentiallynoncontestedoncepts t the heart f theoriesf class forma-tion.The real linchpinhatholdsthetheorynd itspredictiontogethers thus he toryftherupturend transformationroma preindustrialo an industrial/capitalistociety. he chainoflinkagess inexorable:nly hepresencef thepredictioneadstotheproblematicf "failure" nd"peculiarity"fbehavioraloutcome.Yet thecontentftheprediction-thexpectationfclasssociety roducinglassconsciousness-is olely redicatedon the xplanatoryaster-narrativefclassicalmodernitynd tsconceptualnfrastructure.s long s thequestion fworking-class socialactionsbound prioriothe ocietal ransformationsof ndustrializationnd he irth f lasssociety,he esearchaskwillbe confinedoelaboratingifferentersionsfa presumed(butnotdemonstrated)ausality etweenhetransformationfsocietal ntitiesnda predictedorking-classonsciousness.2. WHAT IS NARRATIVITY?Fromcontestinghemaster-narrativembeddedn theories fclassformation,t sonly shorteaptosuggesthat ew toriesneed o beconstructedbout he ong-termistoryftheEnglish.Butnew stories annotmerely e theproductf one assertionagainst nother. he originalmaster-narrativefmodernity,sI haveargued,was itself onstructedrom naturalistic,pis-temological ttemptoescapefrom istoricity,ime ndspace.Theparadoxicalonsequences that hemaster-"narrative"tthecore ofclass-formationheorys conceptuallyoth ntinarrativeandahistorical.rom his ddhybridomes hemanyncoherentpredictionshatooftenenderocial ife nd ocial ction unda-mentallynintelligible.ndeed, lass-formationheoryxemplifies



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Rethinkingnglish orking-Classormation99incoherence. iven hefoundationaloleofthe heory'smaster-narrativend the elf-consciousxpungingromhat arrativefa conceptual arrativity,t sarguablehat lass-formationheoryhasbeen n a sorrytate romhe eginning.fournew toriesrenot osound elentlesslyikevariationsnthe ld,whatwe needismore han hedeconstructionfthemaster-narrativefEnglishmodernization.e alsoneed odevelop conceptualarrativity.Narrativend theHistoriansWhile narrativeas alwaysbeenthenonexplanatoryndnon-theoreticalother" or he ocialsciences, istorianshemselveshavehad a conflictingndchangingelationshipo the oncept.In France nthe1940s,theAnnales istoriansejected oth ra-ditional oliticalhistoryndnarrativenfavor f more nthro-pological, tructural,ndquantitativenalysisStoianovich976;Bourde ndMartin 983;Hunt 986,1989).Meanwhile,nsteadofrejectingarrativity,sectorfAnglo-AmericanistoriansedbyCarlHempel 1942, 1962)argued hat arrativetselfwas ascienceofhistorynd, fdonecorrectly,ouldproduce enerallawscapableof both xplanationndprediction.n spite f twodecades fvigorousebate, his articulariew fnarrativeaded(Gardiner952;Gallie1968;Dray1957;Atkinson978). In theI960s therewas a newkind frejectionfnarrativeevelopingonboth ides ftheAtlantic.n this eydayf he ocial ciences,historiansn NorthAmerica roduced social sciencehistory,"while he evivalfMarxistndWeberianheorynBritainener-ated"socialhistory"hereKammen 980;Steams 985).Socialsciencemethods nd theories ecame avored,ndnarrative asrenderedntonontheoreticaltorytellingbout lites.9In the ate1970s,however,heeadingocialhistorianawrenceStone 1979) leda "returno narrative" ovement. vigorousauto-critiquef ocial cience istorical ethodsllowed tone oargue hat heoverbearingnfluencef thesemethods ad elimi-nated nyhistoricaloncernormeaning.espite is erminology,however,tonewasnot eally dvocatingreturnothe raditionalnotion fnarrative. ewly nfluencedyGeertz1973) and theemerginganthropologicalurn," e wasadvocatingninterpre-tativepproach.10ynomeanshasthenew"post-social" istoryreturnedo traditionalarrative ethods.nthe resentrawhere



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600 SOCIAL SCIENCE HISTORY

the entral ebates mong istoriansake lace amongdvocatesofpoststructuralist,nterpretivepproaches,ndmost ecentlyd-vocates f the"linguisticurn," ery ewdefensesan be foundof what ameto be defined s a nontheoreticalodeofhistorywritinge.g., Scott1988a;Megill 1989,1991; Novick 99i).Butwhat xactlywas itthatwas beingrejected rrediscov-ered?Despite hebroaddebates, achofthese ositionshareda common efinitionfnarratives a mode frepresentation-discursive,atherhan uantitative;onexplanatory,ather hanconditionallyropositional;ndnontheoretical,ather han hetheoreticallyriven ocial sciences.The conflictmonghistori-answas solely verhow to evaluate hat epresentationalorm.For "traditional"istorians,arrativeas dealbecause he ccu-raterepresentationfhistory as theessence fthehistorian'scraft; or he social sciencehistorians,raditionalarrativeep-resentationalormwas inadequateothetask fexplainingndinterpretinghe ast."ReframingarrativityDespitehistoriansebatingnd ncreasinglycorninghe alue fnarrativever he ast wo ecades, cholars rom wide pectrumof disciplinesincluding sychology, edicine, sychoanalytictheory,ducation,hilosophy,olitical cience,gendertudies,andanthropology)ave uietly ppropriatedhe bandoned on-cept ndoften sed ttoproducemajor onceptualreakthroughsin their ields.12 ut theconcept mployedythesedisciplinesis radicallyifferentrom heolder nterpretationf narrativessimply representationalorm. he newnotion ecognizes ar-rative ndnarrativityo be conceptsf socialepistemologyndsocialontology.hese oncepts osit hatt sthrougharrativitythatwe cometoknow, nderstand,ndmake enseofthe ocialworld, nd t s througharrativesndnarrativityhatwe consti-tute ur ocial dentities.tmatters,herefore,otwhether e aresocial cientistsr ubjectsfhistoricalesearch,ut hat ecometo be whowe are (howeverphemeral, ultiple,ndchanging)byour ocationusually nconsciously)n socialnarrativesndnetworksfrelationshat rerarelyfour wnmaking.13



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RethinkingnglishWorking-Classormation6oiCommoneaturesf ocialNarrativityFrom iverseources t spossible o dentifyour eatures4ofareframedarrativityarticularlyelevantor he ocialsciences:(I) relationalityf parts; 2) causal emplotment;3) selectiveappropriation;nd 4) temporality,equence, ndplace.Aboveall,narrativesreconstellationsfrelationshipsconnectedarts)embeddedn time nd pace,constitutedywhat call causal em-plotment.nlike he ttemptoexplain single vent yplacingit n a specifiedategory,arrativityrecludesense-makingfasingularsolated henomenon. arrativityemandshatwe dis-cern hemeaningfany ingle ventnlyntemporalndspatialrelationshipoother vents.ndeed,he hiefharacteristicfnar-rativesthattrendersnderstandingnly y onnectinghoweverunstable)arts o a constructedonfigurationra social network(howeverncoherentrunrealizable).n thisrespect, arrativebecomes nepistemologicalategory.The connectivityf parts s preciselywhynarrativityurns"events" nto pisodes,whetherhe equence fepisodes spre-sentedrexperiencednanythingesemblinghronologicalrder.It is causalemplotmenthat ives ignificanceo ndependentn-stances,not their hronologicalrcategoricalrder.And it isemplotmenthat ranslatesventsnto pisodes.Withoutmplot-ment, vents rexperiencesouldbe categorizednly ccordingtoa taxonomicalcheme.As a mode fexplanation,hen, ausalemplotmentsanaccountinghoweverantasticr mplicit)fwhya narrativeasthe toryine t does Veyne 971;RicoeurI98I,1984-86). Causal narrativityllowsus to test series f "plothypotheses"gainstctual vents,nd hen o xamine ow-andunderwhat onditions-theventsntersectith hehypothesizedplot."' olkinghorne1988) mplicitlyddresseshe ifferencee-tween mplotmentndcategorizationhenhenotes hat ocialactionshould ot e viewed s a result fcategorizingneself"Iam40 years ld; should uy ifensurance")ut hould e seeninthecontextfa life-storyith pisodes"I felt ut ofbreathlastweek; really hould tart hinkingbout ife nsurance")(p. 21). Similarly,t s alsoapparenthat eriousmental onfusionrarelytems romne'sinabilityoplacean event r nstancentheproper ategory. ather, e tend obecome onfused henit is impossibler illogical o integraten event nto n intelli-



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602 SOCIAL SCIENCE HISTORYgibleplot MacIntyre98I). Tomake omethingnderstandableinthecontextf whathashappeneds togive thistoricityndrelationality.his makes ensebecausewhen vents re ocatedin a temporalhoweverleeting)ndsequential lot,we then anexplain heir elationshipo other vents. lotcanthusbe seenas the logic or syntaxof narrativeRicoeur 1979; Veyne 1971;Polkinghorne988).The significancefemplotmentornarrativenderstandingsoften hemostmisunderstoodspect fnarrativity.ithouttten-tion oemplotment,arrative'sxplanatoryimensionaneasilybe overlookednd bemisperceiveds a nontheoreticalepresen-tationf vents. et t semplotmenthat ermitsstodistinguishbetweennarrative,n the one hand, nd chronicle r annales(White 987),ontheother.nfact,t semplotmentfnarrativethat llowsus to constructsignificantetworkrconfigurationofrelationships.

Anotherrucial lementfnarrativitys itsevaluativeriteria(Linde1986,L. Polanyi 985,Somers 986).Evaluationnablesus to make ualitativend exicaldistinctionsmong he nfinitevarietyfevents,xperiences,haracters,nstitutionalromises,and ocialfactorshatmpingenour ives.Charles aylor1989),for xample, rgues hat hecapacityo actdepends o a greatextentnhavingnevaluativerameworkhaped ywhat e calls"hypergoods"a setoffundamentalrinciplesndvalues) alsosee Calhoun I991). The same discriminatoryrinciple s trueofnarrative:nthefaceof a potentiallyimitlessrrayf socialex-periences erivingrom ocialcontactwith vents, nstitutions,andpeople,the valuativeapacityfemplotmentemands ndenables electiveppropriationnconstructingarrativesSomers1986).A plotmust e thematicKermode 984,Bruner 987).Theprimacyfthisnarrativeheme rcompetinghemes eter-mineshowevents reprocessednd what riteria ill be usedtoprioritizevents ndrendermeaningo them. hemes uch s"husband s breadwinner,"union olidarity,"r"womenmustbe independentbove all" willselectivelyppropriatehehap-penings f the socialworld, rrangehem n someorder,ndnormativelyvaluate hese rrangements.



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Rethinkingnglish orking-Classormation03FourKinds fNarrativityTheserelativelybstractoncepts,owever,analso beexpressedthroughourdifferentindsof narrative-ontological,ublic,conceptual,ndmetanarrativity.Ontological arrativesrethe torieshat ocial actors se tomakesenseof-indeed, in order oactin-their ives.Weuseontologicalarrativesodefine howeare,notust oknowwhattodo.Locatingurselvesnnarrativesndows swithdentities-howevermultiple,mbiguous,phemeralrconflictingheymaybe (hence,theterm arrativedentitySomers1986). To havesome senseof socialbeing n theworld equireshat ur ivesbemore han ifferenteries f solatedvents;ntologicalarra-tives, ornstance,rocess ventsnto pisodes. eople ct,ordonot ct, npartccordingohow heynderstandheirlace nanynumberfgivennarratives-howeverragmented,ontradictory,orpartial. harles aylor1989: 51-52)putst hisway: becausewe cannot utorient urselvesothegood,and thus etermineourplacerelativeo t . . , we mustnescapablynderstandurlives nnarrativeorm,s a 'quest.' 16But dentity,iketheself, s neither priori orfixed.Onto-logicalnarratives ake dentitynd the elf omethinghat nebecomesNehamas1985).Narrativembeds dentitiesn time,and patial elationships;ntologicalarrativestructurectivities,consciousness,ndbeliefsCarr 985,1986).Like allnarratives,ontologicalarrativesre structuredy mplotment,elationality,connectivity,ndselectiveppropriation.o basic to agency sontologicalarrativityhatfwewant oexplain-thats,toknow,tomake enseof, o account or, erhapsven opredictnythingabout hepracticesfsocial andhistoricalctors,heirollectiveactions, heirmodes andmeaningsf institution-building,ndtheirpparentncoherencies-wemust irstecognizeheplaceofontologicalarrativesnsocial ife.But wheredo ontological arrativesome from?How arepeople's stories onstructed?boveall, ontological arrativesare social and interpersonal.lthough sychologistsre typi-callybiased owardhe ndividualources fnarratives,ven heyrecognize hedegree o whichontological arrativesan onlyexist nterpersonallyn the ourse f ocialand structuralnter-actions ver imeSarbin 986,Personal arrativesroup 989).



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604 SOCIAL CIENCEHISTORYTobesure, gentsdjust torieso fit heir wn identities,"nd,conversely,heywilltailor reality"o fit heir tories. ut theinterpersonalebs frelationalityustainnd ransformarrativesover ime.Charles aylor1989)callsthese websof nterlocu-tion";othersMacIntyre98I) callthem traditions";willcallthempublicnarratives."Public, cultural,nd institutionalarrativesre thosenarra-tives ttachedo "publics," o a structuralormationargerhanthesingle ndividual,o intersubjectiveetworksrinstitutions,howeverocal orgrand,micro r macro-stories boutAmeri-cansocialmobility,he freebornnglishman,"he mancipatorystoryfsocialism,nd o on. Public nd ultural arrativesangefrom he narrativesf one's familyo thoseof theworkplace(organizationalarrativity),hurch,overnment,nd "nation."7Like all narrative,hese tories avedrama, lot,explanation,and selective ppropriation.amilies, or xample, electivelyappropriatevents o constructtories bouttheir escent ntopoverty.he mainstream edia rrangend onnectventsocre-ate "mainstreamlots" bout he riginfsocial disorders.heseventeenth-centuryhurchxplains hetheologicaleasons ora national amine. overnmentgencies ellus "expert" toriesaboutunemployment.harles aylor1989)emphasizeshe en-tralityfpublicnarrativeoontologicalarrativehenhestates:"We maysharplyhift hebalance n ourdefinitionfidentity,dethronehegiven, istoricalommunitys a poleof dentity,ndrelate nly o thecommunityefinedyadherence o thegood(orthe aved, rthe rue elievers,rthewise).But his oesn'tsever urdependencenwebs f nterlocution.tonly hangeshewebs, ndthenature fourdependence"p. 39).Conceptual/analytic/sociologicalarrativityeferso thecon-ceptsandexplanationshatwe constructs social researchers.Because neitherocial actionnor nstitution-buildings solelyproduced hroughntologicalndpublic arratives,ur onceptsandexplanations ust nclude hefactors ecall socialforces-marketatterns,nstitutionalractices,rganizationalonstraints.Herein ies thegreatesthallengefanalyticndconceptualar-rativity:o devisea conceptual ocabularyhatwe can use toreconstructndplot ver ime nd pace he ntologicalarrativesandrelationshipsfhistoricalctors,hepublic ndcultural ar-



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RethinkingnglishWorking-Classormation605ratives hatnformheirives, ndthe rucial ntersectionfthesenarrativesith ther elevantocialforces.For ourpurposes,t is theconceptual imensionfanalyticnarrativityhats mostmportant."odate, ewf ny four na-lyticategoriesre nthemselvesemporalnd patial.Rather,urmodem ociological se oftermsuch s "society,"he actor,"and "culture"was for ocial sciencepurposes ntentionallyb-stracted rom heirhistoricitynd concrete elationships.heconceptualhallengehat arrativityoses s todevelop socialanalytic ocabularyhat an accommodatehe contentionhatsocial ife, ocialorganizations,ocial ction,nd ocial dentitiesarenarrativelyonstructedhroughothontologicalndpublicnarratives.Metanarrativity,he fourthevel of narrativity,efers o the"master-narratives"n whichwe are embedded s contempo-rary ctors n historynd as social scientistsFoucault 972,1973;JamesonI98I; Lyotard984).Our ociologicalheoriesndconcepts re encodedwith spects fthesemaster-narratives-Progress, ecadence,Industrialization,nlightenment,tc.-eventhough hey sually perate t a presuppositionalevelofsocial science pistemologyrbeyondur wareness. hesenar-rativesanbe the picdramas four ime: apitalisms.Commu-nism, he ndividual s. Society, arbarism/Natures. Civility.Theymayalso be progressivearrativesfteleologicalnfold-ing:Marxism nd the riumphfClassStruggle,iberalismndthetriumphf Liberty,he Rise ofNationalism,r of Islam.Theexample discuss fthemaster-narrativef ndustrialization/Modernizationut fFeudalism/Traditionalocietysonly neofmanyases nwhich presuppositionaltoryetsn heway fhis-torical ocial cience.But have lsopointedowhat sperhapshemost aradoxical spect fmaster-narratives:heirualityfde-narrativization.hats,theyrebuilt nconceptsnd xplanatoryschemes"socialsystems,"social ntities,"socialforces")hatare in themselvesbstractions.lthough aster-narrativesaveall thenecessaryomponentsfnarrativity-relationality,rans-formation,ajor lot ines nd ausal mplotment,haractersndaction-theynonetheless iss he rucial lementf conceptualnarrativity.



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606 SOCIAL SCIENCE HISTORY3. WHAT ARE THE NEW NARRATIVE'SIMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL SCIENCE HISTORY?What, hen, re the mplicationsfthis ew onceptionfnarra-tive or ocial ndhistoricalesearch? ow annarrativeelp sdoempiricalesearchbout ocial ife nd ocialpractices?lthoughall four inds fnarrativityrerelevanto social cience esearch,ifwe are toadequatelyccount orworking-classormationndsocialaction, he mportantne s the hird:onceptualnd ana-lytic.A conceptual arrativityemands emporality,patiality,andemplotments well s relationality,tructure,ndhistoricity.Narrativedentityndrelationalettingepresentoncepts hathaveworked est nmy wnresearch.Narrativedentity.have rguedhat arrativitys a conditionof socialbeing, ocialconsciousness,ocialaction, nstitutions,and tructures.fnarratives ndeed constitutiveeaturef ociallife, urfirsthallenges todevelop onceptshatllowus tocap-ture henarrativityhroughhichdentitiesre constructedndsocial ctionmediated. heconceptf narrativedentityspredi-catedon ustthispremise: arrativitys not formmposed nsocial ife, ut ocial ife ndhumanives re hemselvesstoried"(Carr 986;Sarbin 986).Social dentitiesre onstitutedhroughnarrativity,ocial action sguided ynarrativity,nd socialpro-cesses and nteraction-bothnstitutionalnd nterpersonal-arenarrativelyediated.19Class-formationheory, ycontrast,xplains ctionwith heconcept f interest.Interest"s determinedrom he ogicandstages fsocioeconomicevelopment.n thisway he ocial ana-lyst mputes particularetof nterestsopeople s membersfsocialcategoriese.g., traditionalrtisan, odem actoryorker,peasant). or xample, istoriansommonlyrguehat he eclineoftraditionalomesticmodes fproductionnd he ecline's on-comitanthreato ustom reatedn "artisanalnterest."lthoughsocial sciencehistorianslmostlways emonstrateithubtletyhow hese nterestsremediatedhroughnterveningactorscul-ture, ender, eligion,esidentialatterns,tc.),the ocial nter-ests derived romhe ocioeconomicntityre thefoundationalexplanationorworking-classracticesndprotests. akingenseof social action husbecomes n exercisen identifyingocialcategories, eriving utativenterestsromhem,ndthen oing



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Rethinkingnglish orking-Classormation07the mpirical ork f ookingtvariationsnthosenterestse.g.,Wright985;McNall t al. I99I).To understandction,however, hy houldwe assume hatan individualr a collectivityasanyparticularet of nterestssimply ecause one aspectoftheirdentityits ntoone socialcategory?Why houldwe assume hat rtisans ave"artisanal"interestsimply ecause heyremembersfthe decliningrti-sanalmodeofproduction"ategory?o let "class" stand ordeterminativexperiences topresumehatwhichhas notbeenempiricallyemonstrated-namely,hatdentitiesrefoundation-ally onstitutedy ategorizationn thedivisionf aborwithinunifiedocioeconomicotalitye call"society."Substitutinghe oncept f dentityor hat f nterestircum-vents hisproblem.An identitypproacho action ssumes hatsocial action anonlybe intelligiblefwerecognizehat eopleareguided o actby he elationshipsnwhichheyreembeddedratherhan y nterests e imputeo them.Where nterestsde-rived rom owwe asanalystsategorizeeople's ole n divisionof labor, he dentitypproach ocuses n howpeoplecharac-terize hemselves. hile socialcategorys an internallytableconceptwhich ssumes hat nder normal" onditions,ntitieswithin hat ategory illdemonstrateppropriatecategorical"behaviors,haracterization,y ontrast,mbeds he ersonwithinpatternsfrelationshipshatontinuallyhiftver ime nd pace.Thesetemporallyndspatiallyhiftingonfigurationsormherelationaloordinatesfontological,ublic, ndcultural arra-tives. t swithin hesenumerousndmultilayeredarrativesndsocial networkshat dentitiesreformedndchallenged;ence,narrativedentity.Thenarrativeimensionf dentitiesresumeshat ction anbe intelligiblenly fwerecognizeheoneormany ntologicalandpublicnarrativesn which ctorsdentifyhemselves. atherthanderivingromnterests,arrativedentitiesreconstitutedby person's emporallyndspacially pecific place" in cultur-ally onstructedtorieshatomprisebreakable)ules,variable)practices, indingandunbinding)nstitutions,ndthemultiplestoriesffamily,ation,r conomicife. eople's xperiencessworkers,or xample,were nextricablynterconnectedith helargermatrixfrelationshat haped heir ives-theirregionallocation, hepractical orkingsfthe egal system, amily at-



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6o8 SOCIAL SCIENCE HISTORYterns-andthe articulartoriesofhonor,f thnicity,fgender,of ocalcommunity,fgreed, tc.)used oaccount or he ventshappeningo them.Althoughocialaction sonly ntelligiblehroughhe onstruc-tion, nactment,ndappropriationfpublic arratives,his oesnotmeanthat ndividualsrefree o fabricatediosyncraticar-ratives t whim; ather,heymust choose" from repertoireofstories.Which inds f narrativesill ocially redominatescontestedoliticallynd willdependnlargepart nthe ctualdistributionfpowerSomers 986).This swhyhekinds fnar-ratives eopleuseto make enseoftheir ituation ill lways ean empiricalatherhan presuppositionaluestion. he extentandnaturef ny iven epertoirefnarrativesvailable orppro-priationsalways istoricallynd ulturallypecific;he articularplots hat ivemeaningso those arrativesannot e determinedin advance.Relational etting. ocial actionand narrativedentityreshapedthroughothontologicalndpublicnarratives,s wellas bysocialenvironments.e thusneed a conceptual ocabu-lary hat anrelatenarrativedentityo that ange ffactors ecall social forces-marketatterns,nstitutionalractices, rga-nizationalonstraints,nd so on. Anotherhallengefanalyticnarrativitys thereforeo locate he ctors s charactersn theirsocial narrativesndto emplothemn a temporalnd spatialconfigurationfrelationshipsndpracticesinstitutionsnd dis-courses).Weneedconceptshatwillenableus toplot ver imeand pacethe ntologicalarrativesfhistoricalctors,he ublicand cultural arrativeshatnformheirives, s well s therele-vant ange fother ocialforces-fromoliticsodemography-that onfigureogetheroshapehistorynd ocial ction.Societys theterm hat sually erformshatwork orus insocialanalysis.Whenwespeak funderstandingocial ction,wesimultaneouslypeakof ocatinghe ctorsntheir ocietal on-text.Butsocietys a conceptsrooted n a wholisticndfalselytotalizing ay f hinkingbout heworld. fwewant obe abletocapturehenarrativityf ocial ife,we need way f hinkinghatcan substituteelationalor otalizing etaphors.ere, concurwithMichaelMann 1986)whohaswritten,Itmay eem n oddposition or sociologistoadopt; ut f could, would bolishthe onceptf society' ltogether"p. 2).



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RethinkingnglishWorking-Classormation609Forvirtuallyllpracticingocial cience esearch,societysa

socialsystem. s a system,thasa core ssence-an essentialetof ocial pringst heheartf hemechanism.his ssentialore,inturn,s reflectednbroader,ovaryingocietal nstitutionshatthe ystemomprises.hus,when ociologistspeakoffeudal-ism,wemean tonce "feudal ociety" s a whole, particularsetof"feudal lassrelations"tthe ore f his ociety, "feudalmanorialconomy,"nd concomitantet f feudalnstitutions"such as feudalpolitical nits nd feudal easant ommunities.Mostsignificantlyorhistoricalesearch,ach nstitutionithina societymust ovarywith achother. hus, n feudal ocieties,the tate ydefinitionust e a feudal tatewhose eudal harac-ter ovarieswith ll other eudalnstitutions;eudalworkers ustall be unfreendextraeconomicallyxploitedeasants.And nindustrialociety, modemndustrial/capitalisttatemust e de-tached romivil ocietynd he ndustrialconomy,nd ndustrialworkersmust e individualnd free.To be sure, he ynchronyis not lways erfect.nperiods ftransitionromnesocietyoanother,here ccurs lageffect,ndremnantsftheold orderpersistgainsthepressuresfthenew.Butdespitehese ualifi-cations, he ystemicmetaphorssumes hat heparts fsocietycovary longwith hewhole s a singlentity.Ifunderstandingorking-classormations tobe more han nexercisenextendingunifyingore othe ssumptionf nterest,these ystemic ypologiesmust e brokenpart nd their artsdisaggregatedndreassembledn the asisof mpiricalelationalclusters. o make hispossible, amsuggestinghatwe substi-tute he oncept f a relationalettingor society."A relationalsettingsa patternfrelationshipsmongnstitutions,ublic ar-ratives,nd ocialpractices.dentityormationakeshapewithinthis elationalettingfcontestedutpatternedelationsmongpeopleand institutions.s such, t is a relationalr structuralmatrix,imilar oa socialnetwork.20Oneofthemostmportantharacteristicsfa relationalettingisthatthas a historyMacIntyre981)and husmust eexploredover ime nd pace.Temporally,relationalettingstraced vertimenotby ooking or he ndicatorsf socialdevelopment,utbyempiricallyxaminingfandwhen he nteractionmong heinstitutionsf thesettingppears o haveproduced decisivelydifferentutcome romtspreviousxaminations.ocialchange,



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6IO SOCIAL SCIENCE HISTORYfrom his erspective,sviewed ot s the volutionrrevolutionofone ocietal ype o nother,ut y hiftingelationshipsmongthe nstitutionalrrangementsndculturalracticeshatmake poneormore ocialsettings.Spatially, relationalettingmust e conceivedwith geo-metricndmorphologicalatherhan mechanisticetaphor;t scomposedf geometric atrixf nstitutionsinked o achotherinvariable atternsontingentnthe nteractionf llpointsnthematrix.21A settingrosses evels f nalysisndbringsogethernonesettinghe ffectf, ay, he nternationalarket,he tate'swarmakingolicies, he ocalpoliticalonflictsmonglites, nda community'semographicractices.his ross-cuttingharac-ter fa relationalettingssumes hat he ffectfany ne evel(for xample, heproto-industrialextileector)anbe discernedonlybyassessing ow t s affectednteractivelyith heotherrelevantevels.To dosorequireshat efirstisaggregatehe artsof a settingromnypresumedovaryinghole ndthen econ-figurehemn theiremporalndgeographicelationality.n thisway, or xample, ifferentegionsfEnglandrenolongerastas variantsfa single ociety,ut s differentelationalettingsthat anbecompared.224. NARRATIVE IDENTITY, RELATIONAL ANALYSIS,AND CLASS FORMATIONSo far, havenoted wo mplicationsfnarrativityor ngaginginsocial science:first,hatwe needto substitutehe oncept fnarrativedentityor hat finterest,ndsecond, hatwe needto substituteheconcept f relationalettingor hat fsocietyor social system. hisnewnarrativend relationalnalysis anpotentiallyiberate s as analystsrom he verarchingrand ar-rativeshat aveconstrainedlass-formationheory.nthis inalsection, willbrieflyotehowthis onceptualpparatusanbeusedtorethinkesearch nworking-classormationndretell hestoryfEnglishlassformation.One importantutcomefmakingelationalettingsnd cul-turalnarrativeshebasis of working-classocial action s toeliminatelass-formationheory'serennialoncernsbout in-consistency,"failedpredictions,"r "deviancy." he identityapproach, ncontrast,xpects bsolutehistorical ontingencye-



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RethinkingnglishWorking-Classormation61tween ocialpracticesnd the ndustrialevolutionorany thersocietal ransformation).he effectfsuchhistoricalnteractionsis whatmustbe explored mpirically,s must hequestion fwhetherhese nteractionsillenable rconstrainocial action.The assumptionfcontingencyhus hallengeshe ssumptionsthatworkers' ehaviors hich o not onformocategoricals-sumptionsreanomalous,rrational,r"backwardlooking";hesettingsn whichdentitiesre onstitutedavenoendogenousi-rectionalityr a prioriefinitionfrationalction.f the ontextsthat ivemeaning,ontingency,ndhistoricityo dentityavenoteleology,o actions anbe assessed s more bjectivelyatio-nal than thers.Allworking-classehavior ecomes otentiallyintelligible.Anothermplicationf thenarrativedentitypproachs thatour researchmustbeginnot from single ategoryutfromthenetworkfrelationshipsnd nstitutionsn which ctors reembedded;we thenmust mplothese ctors nd nstitutionsntheir aryingelationshipso eachother-relationshipshat aryinsocialandpolitical istancess well s interactiveffects.ub-stitutingrelationalettingor he bstractionfsociety llowsus to nduce mpiricalonnectionsmongnstitutionsatherhanpresupposingovariation.he positionsnd distanceswithinrelationaletting elp o make ense fwhat inds fsocialprac-ticeswere ossible, oth tthe evel fstructuralpportunityndofpurpose,dentity,ndmeaning. hus dentityeconstitutionbecomes two-steprocess. hefirstnvolvesindingnd nter-pretinghe lues eft yhistoricalctors egardinghenarrativesthat aveguided heir ctions. he second tep ntheprocessn-volves sing hose lues s well s researchn broaderocial andstructuralelationshipsoconfigurehese lementsndrepertoiresintogeometricocialnetworks.My researchn theEnglish ase can schematicallyllustratethesepoints. n theyears rom8oo to 1850,English aboringpeopleviolentlyrokemachines nd marchedeacefullyo Par-liament;heymobbed npopular orkhouses,nd hey etitionedto retain r reinstitutepprenticeshipndwageregulations;heydemanded ew formsf state nterventionnto he engthf theworking ay,andthey enaciouslyoughtor heright o out-doorpoorrelief ndforocal controlver ts dministration;heywagedmilitanttrikes,nd hey ormedelf-helpnd ommunity-



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612 SOCIAL SCIENCE HISTORYbased ducationalrganizations;amilieshuddled" nd xercisedpoliticalnfluenceyboycottingelectedmerchants;ndatcriti-cal periods heyinkedhese racticesothepolitical emand orworking-classarticipationnParliamentnduniversaluffrage.23Let us leaveasidethe uestionf whetherhesewererevolu-tionary,eformist,r"backwardlooking"oals.Whocares?Letus note, nstead,he entral arrativehat an ike thick hreadthroughll themultipleocialpractices,oals, ndmovements.Simply,hisnarrativehemewas thatworkingeoplehad nvio-lable rightsoparticularolitical ndlegalrelationships.heyclaimed hese ightss citizens ndfocused n a particularnder-standingf the aw,a particularnderstandingf "thepeople"andtheirmembershipnthe oliticalommunity,nda particularconceptionf the egalrelationshipetween hepeopleand thelaw.This onceptionfrightsefinedndependencend utonomyas inexorablyinked o thepropertyightsf workingeople(Prothero1979; G. StedmanJones1983). But thoserightswereonlynpart he ruitsf ndividualabor; hey rimarilyested nmembershipn the oliticalommunitySomers 986,1992b).The mostnotable esult f thisnarrative as thatnthemidstof theworst conomic istress f theirives,Englishndustrialfamilies ased their rotestsoton economic emands r thoseofa "moral conomy,"ut n a broadlyonceived laim o egalrights o participation,ubstantiveocial ustice Poor Laws),local governmentontrol,ohesive amilyndcommunityela-tions, modem"methods f abor egulationtrade nions),ndtherighto ndependence-betfromapitalists,he tate, ronotherworkers.hey elied nplot ines riveny conceptionfjustice ndrightsnmembershipo xplainheir istressndguidetheir ction.Consistently,hey imedtheir rotestsoward helaw, egal uthorities,egal deals funiversalitynd quity,ocalpoliticalnd egal nstitutions,nd owardnhancinghe olidarityofthe ommunitytself. herelationshipetweenthe eople ndthe aw" was thus heprevailingublicnarrativef thesework-ingpeople,and theplot inewhich onfiguredhisnarrative asthat f a political ulture frights.24hehistoryndprojectedfuturef this ights'ulture as the hemehroughhich ventswere valuated,xplained,ndgivenmeaning. hey rovidedheguidesto action, hemethods or heremedies fwrongsnddistress.25



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RethinkingnglishWorking-Classormation613This characterizationoes notprioritizeither language f

class or ofpolitics. here snoquestionhat language fclassdeveloped rom he1830son, ustas theres no questionhatthat amelanguagedentifiedhestate s controllinghe eversof socialpower.26ut most ignificantly,he anguage frightsembraced othpolitics ndclass; itwas theexplanatoryrismthroughhich lass ssues nd therspects f ocialdistress eremediated nd madesenseof.Rights' laimswere huspoliticalinthebroadestense; heystablishedhe laim oempowermentderiving otonlyfromonstitutionalnd "natural" ights, utfromommunityohesionnd utonomynmembership.ecausethey onjoinedrtisanalonceptionsfproperty-baseditizenshiprights,hese laims lso conjoined urusually eparate otionsof social andpolitical ights. ights-bearingdentitiesncludedclassrightss onepart fa bundle frightsttached opoliti-calmembershipnderaw;theyombinedocialpower, olitics,individualights,ndmembership.27To explain hese racticeshrougharrativenalysismeanswemust econstructherelationalettingsnwhich hese dentitiesunfolded. ut nwhat idsuch ettingsonsist? owdo we knowwhere obeginthetaskofreconstitution?fter irstecountingtheprevailingarratives,emust ollow heir hemesndplots-about he aw, bout he ommunitiesnwhich he awoperated,and about he ocal nteractionetween ommunitiesndthe aw.And from hesewe can configurentogeometricndtemporalformhe hiftingndvaried elationalettingsnwhich ur ctorslived.This s not heplacetosummarizeuch massive rojectof dentity-reconstitution;willhint nly rogrammaticallytmyfindings.The identitiesfnineteenth-centurynglishworkingeoplescan be traced o and comparedmongfour oughly ifferentrelationalettings:I) pastoral, ural-industrial,aternorthernindustrialommunities;2) agriculturalaboring ommunities;(3) urban/artisanalommunities;nd 4) Frenchastoralndrural-industrialommunities.our ifferentistoricalndgeographicalanthropologies1300-1850) furthermoreomprise I) variationsinproductivectivitiesndworkingelations;2) variationsmongEnglish nd Continentalegal institutions,octrines,tatutoryclaims, deals,promises,ndpolicies-especially hedifferingpolitical nd egalrightsttachedopropertyelations,tatutory



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614 SOCIAL SCIENCE HISTORYlabor egulations,egaladministrativerocedures,nddiscursiveidealsof urisprudence;3) variationsmong ommunities-kin-ship, demographic,nheritance,ndmigrationatternsmongEngland's rban nd ruralbothfreeholdernd aboring) opu-larcommunities;nd 4) differencesn thepractical orkingsfEnglishaw ndustice tthe ocal evels f he ontrastingnglishcommunities.Doing comparisonsia relationalettingsnvolvespecifyinglinkagesndconstructingetworksttwo evels. n the ettingsa whole, achinstitutionorms point, r a domain,na geo-metric attern.onnectinginesrepresenthe ctual nteractivelinksbetween he nstitutions.ather hanmputingn a priorifunctiono a typeofproduction,or xample, ne asks whatkinds frelationshipstgeneratedorwhat inds frelationshipsmust ave xisted ort to have aken ootnthefirstlace?)andwhat hepatternsf these onnectionsere.Thus,for xample,in theeighteenth-centuryural omesticndustries,plottedheconnectionsfmerchant-capitalistsotheir amilyemployees"andfollowedheprocesses ywhichworkwasdistributed,agesnegotiated,nfractionsfcontractealtwith,ndpaymentsrga-nized.This ed toplottinghedaily reks fa middleman,s wellas directlyolocal administratorsfstatutoryabor aw.This nturned tothe articipatoryechanismshroughhichheseawswere arriedut,whichwould equirenunderstandingfclassrelationsnthe ommunity.elationalnalysishereforeeitherdismisses or educes roductiono "the conomy"with ll thesystemicizationnvokedy hatategory),ut athert onstituteseconomic roductions one institutionmongmany; s merelyone of a multipleetworkfcompetingnstitutionsndpracticesthat ear n dentity-formation.28Ata secondevel, elationalnalysisransformsach nstitutionfromsinglentityo set frelationships.he tate, orxample,maywellbe an instrumentfcoercion,utmoremportants itsactual malgam fsuborganizationsndtheir elationshipsitheach other. helaw s anotherxamplehat s a category eanslittle.The historicalmeaningflawbegins o take hapeonlybychartingtsnumerousnstitutionalnd discursivexpressions,fromhehighestourts o themost rivialf ocal uries othediscourses fsocial ustice nd he tatutoryreambles.hiskindofnetworknalysismakestpossible ostudyhe ontinualhifts



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RethinkingnglishWorking-Classormation615inthekinds ndconsequencesf nteractiveatternsnd nstitu-tional rrangements.ubstitutinghe ermlacefor hat f"role"(part fthe ystemic etaphor)llows s to ocate nstitutionsndpracticesntheirelationalettings.The significanceor dentity-formationf each relationalet-ting merges nlyby comparingatternsfpower, conomics,andculturevervaryingimes ndplaces.Thus, twouldbe amistakeo presumehat he ivesof seventeenth-centuryural-industrialamiliesanbeunderstoody implynvokinghe ate-gory proletarianizednit fproduction."nstead, askedwhatsorts ffamilyndwork ieshadtoexist, or xample, o sus-taincertain inds f inheritanceractices.nversely,hat ortsofrelationshipsid differentnheritanceractices roduce ndsupport?imilaruestionsanbeaddressedo nstitutionalowerrelationsratherhan elyingn a priori ategoriesf "strong"or"weak"states).What dministrativeower idthe rown aveavailable or ertainolicies?Howwasthis owermplementednlocalcommunities?Myalternativetoryan be brieflyummarized.hemeaningofworking-classormationannot efoundnthe birth f classsociety" utntheong-termonsequencesf heegal evolutionsofmedieval ngland.Alone mong uropeantate-builders,nlytheEnglishreated nationalublic pherey ppropriatingrombelow ndextendinghroughouthe and he egalconventionsfboth hemedieval ities ndthe ublic illages.nlegalpracticesthe tate ecame he ity writ-large";emediesfproceduralus-tice nsuringightsnautonomynd ndependenceoexisted ithbothnational edistributiveolicies, s well as legal nstitutionsthat ommandedommunityarticipationn theadministrationof aw.29Thismandatoryarticipationn egal dministrationy ll free-holdersmayhavebeen hemost rucial actornEnglish orking-class formation.30he mostnotable esult f thisparticipatorysystem as thatwhich havedubbed systemfnarrativeustice-the local contextualizingndnegotiatingf legalprocesses.This legal narrativityenerated ifferentatternsf justice-indeed, ifferentegalculturesndifferentypes fsettings. is-toricallyersistentatternsf differencexistednthe tructureofearly abormarkets,n thedegree fpopular articipationnpoliticalnd egal nstitutions,nthe haracterf orporateillage



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616 SOCIAL SCIENCE HISTORYinstitutions,nd, bove ll, npopular onceptionsnd ocialnar-rativesf ustice ndrights.opularmpowermentariednthedegree owhichommunitiesere ble o ppropriatehe aw ntorights. ostremarkably,ecause ocalcommunitiesdministereda formallyniformationalaw, hemultiple arrativesf com-munityoliticswerenstitutionalizednto heheart f henationallegalandpolitical pparatus.Narrativenalysis,hus, roduces differenticturefEnglishclass formation.31Whatwe recognize s nineteenth-centuryworking-classormationevelopedromatternsfprotestlmostexclusivelynthenorthernndustrialillages-the nheritorsfthose trong,opularegalculturesfearly astoralndrural-industrialelationalettings. orkingamiliesarriedwith heminto henineteenthenturyrobust arrativedentityasedon along ulture fpracticalights-acultureoned, evised,ndad-justed vermanyenturies,ndone hey ere ot ikelyodismissatthe rossingfan "event" ubbed yhistoriansnlyyearsateras the ndustrialevolution.325. CONCLUSIONThe aimof this ssayhas been toexplainwhy lass-formationtheorys so problematicnd how tmighte reconsidered.ydefinitionf theproblems similarn part o that rticulatedbyKatznelson nd Zolberg 1986) in their nfluentialolumeonworking-classormation.hetheory, ith tspredictiveele-ologyof class in itself-fortself, orces n accountingotforactualpatternsf variation,ut for "an epistemologyf ab-sence" (Somers1989a).Ultimately,hetheory as continuallychastised nd measuredocialactiongainst societal ardstick.Theseproblemsre reflectedn the hree revailingpproachestonineteenth-centurynglish lass formationdiscussedbove;each definesworking-classractices"reformist,"revolution-ary," backwardlooking")gainsthepresuppositionalackdropofthe n tself-fortselfheoreticalrediction.Buttheres a deeper roblemowhich have alled ttention,namely,hea priorissumptionhat heriseofan entityalledcapitalism ust e the oundationalausalfactornshapinghesepractices. egardlessf ts deologicalersuasion,achparadigmroots he xplanationfnineteenth-centuryorking-classocial



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RethinkingnglishWorking-Classormation617actionnthe birth fclasssociety"; he esponseo that irth nthe art fworkerss what istinguisheshe pproaches.hecon-ceptualimitationsfKatznelson's1986)own evisionshowusthow ntractableproblemhiss.Althoughe sable oavoid ele-ology hroughcomparativepproachothedependentariable(classdispositionsndactions), eisunable o envision theorythat anescapefromltimatelyeducinghese o the prioriau-sality fproletarianizationnd,more enerally,he mergencefcapitalism.The true hallenge or heoristsfworking-classormationsto be able to liberate he tudyf class action otonly romheconstraintsf an a priorieleologicalutcome,s Katznelson asdone,but,moremportantly,o iberatetfrom he onstraintsfthe priorindependentariable-themaster-narrativefEnglishproletarianization.have ried oshow, owever,hat reeinghetheoryromhese onstraintss nosimplematter.heunderlyingproblems theconceptualocabularyhat s theuniversalar-lanceofexistingiscussionsfclassformation.ontained ithinthis ocabularys themassivelyntrenchedndconceptuallyn-codeddenarrativizedtoryfthemakingfmodem nglishlasssociety.33Thus, xplainingndrecoveringhemeaningfworking-classsocial ctionwhichs,afterll,the oalof lass-formationheory)demands ot nly ecognizinghe entralityf he lassicalmaster-narrativeut lsosystematicallyooseningtshold. t lsorequiresrenarrativizingur onceptualanguagefsocial ction.NOTESI Thisparticular hrase fcoursederives rom . P. Thompson's1965)famousesponseoPerry ndersonndTomNairn's Origin f he resentCrisis" Anderson964).2 "Te Fabula Narata" I tellyour tory) ortended arx'sdedicationotheworkersf theworldnvolume ofCapital.Forthe ocusclassicus f therelationshipetweennglish orking-classistory,lass-formationheory,

andcapitalist evelopment,eeMarx's 1977)chaptero ofCapital, TheWorkingay."Onthe entralityf he nglishaseformodemociologicaltheory,ee Giddens1981),Collini tal. (1983),G. Stedman ones1984),andSomers1986, 1992a).For lassic xamplesftheoryistilled rom heEnglishase,see Marshall1950),Rostow1960),andRimlinger(1971).3 Itwould eimpossibleodo ustice o he xcitingecent orkn hehistoryandtheoryf class formation.simplyall particularttentiono Katz-



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618 SOCIAL SCIENCE HISTORYnelson ndZolberg1986),Davidoffnd Hall (1987),Kimeldorf1987),Fantasia1988),Steinberg1989,1991),Baron I99I), Rose I99I), andCanning 1992).4 Forelaboration, ee Somers 1986, 1990, 1992a).5 Since historicalarratives the ubject f this ssay, will imitmyuseofthe erm arrativeoconveyhe onstructedepresentationfhistory,ndwilluse the erm istoryoconveyhe actual"historicalrocesseselievedto be appropriatedndrenderednto epresentationalormyhistorians.6 KarlPolanyi 1944) stillpresentss with hedeepest nderstandingfthediscoveryf society. ee also Block andSomers1984) and Colliniet al. (1986).

7 On sociological libisforworking-classormation,ee Eley andNield(1980),KatznelsonndZolberg1986),andSomers1986).8 It is a case that s most mportantor he ommunitarianssee especiallyCalhounI98I). Withoutheviewof traditionalocietyhat hey old ndthe oncomitantestructionf hatociety y he riumphf ndustrialapi-talism,heirocial actorswouldnot e "looking ackward"rfightingor"traditional"rtisanal alues nthe ace fthenew apitalistelations.9 Socialhistorys "historyrom elow"wasperhapsest epresentedy heHistoryWorkshopournalditednLondon.Io The historiansecited sexemplaryf henew rend ere nythingut ra-ditional arrativeistorians.atalie avis(I975),CarloGinzburg1982),and Robert arnton1985), all areanthropologicallynfluencedistori-ans whohavetakennterpretativepproachesothepastandworked oreconstructhe nner orlds fhistoricalctors.II This view ofnarratives methodologyas importantlyubstantiatedythephilosophersndhistoriographers.hite1973, 98I, 1984)andMink(1965,1974,1978)both rguedhatwhateverhemethodologicalalueofnarrative,thadto be seen s a superimposedormhatnalysts/historiansplacedover he haos of"reality"oorganizet nto oherency.ee alsoDanto 1985). Themajor xceptiono this osition,nd a majornfluenceon the new narrativepproach, s Ricoeur 1979, I98I, 1984-86).12 InpsychologyKemper 984;Hales1985;Bruner,986,1987;GergenndGergen 986;Sarbin 986), n medicineWilliams984;Kleinman988),inpsychoanalyticheorySchafer98I, 1983;Spence1982), n education(WitherellndNoddings991), in philosophyMaclntyre98I, Walzer1982, C. Taylor 1989), in political science (Hart 1989, 1990, 199I), ingendertudiesGordon 986,Grahamt al. 1989,Maynes 989,PersonalNarrativesGroup1989, Bell and Yalom 1990, MillerI991, ZerilliI991), inanthropologyDaniel1984,Turnernd Bruner986,Ortner991),and nsociologyBrown 977,Somers 986,Reed1989).

13 Seeespeciallyhe life tories"cholarshipfBertaux(I98I), Bertaux ndKohli 1984),Freeman1984),andL. Polanyi1985),andLinde 1986).14 For range f discussionsfnarrativeheory,ee Barthes1966), Scholesand Kellogg (1966), Genette(I980), Jameson(I98I), Mitchell(I98I), andBrooks1984).15 This s indeed differentpproacho the oncept fexplanationhat hestrictestfanalytichilosophersf sciencewould ccept-causality s a



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RethinkingnglishWorking-Classormation619deductivenstancef a generalization.heverytrengthndutilityfthestrictnalytic pproachoexplanationassociatedwith heViennaCircle)is its valid"denarrativization,"rabstraction,finstances,lements,revents romime nd pace nto ategories.16 Samples fvariouspproachesowhat amcalling ntologicalarrativescan be foundnGergen1973, 1977,1985),Bertaux(I98I), MacIntyre(I98I), Swift1983), Bertaux ndKohl 1984), Freeman1986),Crites(1986),Ferccero1986),GergenndGergen1986),Sarbin1986),Bruner(1987),Polkinghorne1988),C. Taylor1989),Bell ndYalom(I990), andSision 1992). See Janet art's ontributiono thisvolume or differentandespeciallyriginalse ofthe ermontologicalarrative"o whichhecontrastsmobilizationalarrative."17 Organizationalheorys oneareaofthe ocial cienceshat asusednarra-tive nalysisnparticularlyreative ays. ee MitroffndKillman1975),Martint al. (1983),MeyerndScott1983),Smircich1983a,1983b), ndDiMaggio 1988).18 On narrative ethodologyn sociology nd history,ee Brown 1988,1990),Abbott(I99o), andSomers1989b,1992a).19 This discussion f narrativedentitynd relationalettingsrawsfromSomers1986, 1993).Theoriginalnspirationor hismorphologicalndrelationalpproach ver ategoricalnalysisn socialtheoryndhistoryoverwhelminglyerives rommy pistemologicalnterpretationftheworkof Karl Polanyi 1944, 1957a, 1957b,1957c, 1968, 1977), as well asfrom tudiesn legal historye.g. Pollock ndMaitland 968;Maitland1897,1973 [19871),historicaleographye.g. Thirsk 967;Darby1976;Dodgshon nd Butlin 979;Gregory982,1984;GregoryndUrry 985),legalanthropologye.g. Gluckman955,1965;Derrett965;Smith 966,1974; S. F.Moore1978), nthropologye.g.Fortes945, 1949, 1959,1969;Fortes nd Evans-Pritchard949;Turner969;Bloch1971;SchneiderndSmith 973).20 Onthe pistemologicalignificancefnetworksndrelationalnalysisvercategoriesnunderstandingocialstructures,ee White tal. (1976). Onthe ociological ignificancefnetworksndwhat amcalling elationalanalysis ee especiallyWhite, t al. (1976); forhistoricalociology eeBearman1985),Mann 1986),Lachman1987).Whatmay e thedefini-tive tatementn networksnd ocialtheory, hite1992),waspublishedjust s thisworkwasgoing opress.21 The epistemologicalmplicationsf recentwork nhistoricaleographyhavebeen ittle oted y ociologists.xceptionsncludeMann 1986)andAminzade1992).22 Animportantiewof thevalueoftheoreticallyisaggregatingocietyanbe foundn Bell 1976).23 Onmachine-breakingndLuddism,ee Hobsbawm1964),E. P.Thomp-son 1966,chap.14),Bronte1979),andDinwiddie1979).Onpetitioningto ParliamentndChartism,eeBriggs1959),Hovell 1966),Gammage(1969), D. Jones1975),G. Stedman ones1983),D. Thompson1984),andEpstein1989b).Onstormingorkhouses,eeDigby1978)andTilly(1982b).On thefightoretainpprenticeshipndwage regulations,ee



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620 SOCIAL SCIENCE HISTORYHammond and Hammond (I919), Mantoux (I96I), Prothero 1979), andRule 1986).Onfightingor ten-houray, eeKydd1857),Grant1866),HutchinsndHarrison1926),Driver1946),Ward1962),Deb 1963),andGray1987).Onfightingor he ightopoor elief ithoutorced ommit-ment otheworkhouse,ee Driver1946),Ward1962),andEdsall(I971).On strikes,ee Musson1972),Foster1974),Prothero1974),KirbyndMusson 1975),andRule 1986).On self-help,ommunityducation,ndOwenism, ee E. P. Thompson1966), Yeo (1971),Vincent(I98I), G.Stedman ones1983),andB. Taylor1983).Onboycottingerchants,eeFoster(I974). On crowdsngeneral,ee the lassicbyRude 1964) andHolton1978).On Britainnd ocialmovements,eeTilly1982a,1991).

24 On theconcept f "thepeople,"see Prothero(I979), Hill (I98I), andRogers1987).25 On workers' elf-narrativesndautobiographies,ee Vincent(I98I) andBurnettt al. (1984, 1987,1989).26 The classic article n the anguage f class inthenineteenthenturysstillBriggs1967). For ubsequentiscussionn the ubject,ee Belchem(I98I), G. Stedman ones1984),Claeys 1985),Cronin1986),Epstein(1986),Gray1986,1987),Scott1988a),andSteinbergI991).27 Forthe onvergencef constitutionalndnaturalightshetoric,eeE. P.Thompson1966), Belchem1989),andEpstein1989a).Onthe inkbe-tween rtisanalkills, roperty,ndpolitical ights,ee Sewell(I980), G.Stedman ones1983),Hobsbawm1984),Rule 1987),and Scott 1987,1988b,1988c).See Scott1988a)for critiquef Stedman ones's ppo-sition opoliticalndclass claims.For ritiquesfthe ppositionfrightsclaims andcommunityembershipdentities,ee especiallyM. Walzer(1982),Minow1987),andHallandHeld 1989).For nespeciallympor-tant iew frightsormation,eeTillyI990).28 Theseare,ofcourse, hepremisesf economicociology.ee K. Polanyi(1944), Sahlins (1976), Bell (I98I), Block and Somers 1984), Hirschman(1984, 1986),Granovetter1985),Swedberg1987),andBlock 1989).

29 This is furtherlaborated nSomers 1991).30 Forthe entralityf egalparticipation,eeespecially errup1985, 1987)andBeattie1986).31 The importfthe "law in context" asoriginallyevelopednthe arlytwentieth-centurymericanschool f egalrealism"seeKalman 987).More recently,hecontextualocushas been takenup byanthropolo-gistssee Geertz 983andMoore1978).Somesocial historiansave lsobeen attentiveo this seeE. P. Thompson975,BrewerndStyles980,Stone I981).32 Arnold oynbee1884) s believed obethe irst.33 Such entrenchmentndencodings surprisingnly f we find t difficulttoaccept hat ll theorys not nly heory,ut lsopart arrativendpartepistemology.ust s we have ometoaccept he mpossibilityfsettingasideepistemologicalssumptions,o it s time oaccept he mpossibilityof ettingside he entralityfnarrativen heory.he ppropriateuestionwemust ut oourselvess nothow an we do awaywith hese istortingmetanarratives;ather,t swhich fmany ossible arrativesrewegoing



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RethinkingnglishWorking-Classormation621tolive with ornow,until-as the ase must lways e-we think iffer-entonesprovide reaterriteriaorwhat ounts s knowledgeAlexander1987, 991).

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Somers 1992 - Narrativity, Narrative Identity, And Social Action

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