Union Power: The Growth and Challenge in Perspective

London: William Kimber. Very Good/Very Good. 1976. First Edition. Hard Cover. 8vo 0718301137 Dust jacket complete, unclipped. Original cloth boards with bright gilt titling on spine. No ownership marks. 206 pages clean and tight. In his opening pages of this book the author, one of the most controversial political commentators of our time, writes: 'One way-a rough but ready one-to measure the depth of divisions within a society is to note the extent to which members of one group perceive members of another as not merely mistaken, but morally wicked; not merely ignorant but malevolent; not merely wrong-headed but off their heads a!t3yather. The degree to which a controversial issue evokes this recourse to moralistic, and even quasi-religious hubbub is an indicator of the relative importance attached to such an issue, of its place on the agenda of divisive matters arising. 'By this criterion the problem of Trade Union power in Britain can be seen to figure very high, perhaps at the top, of the country's political and social agenda . . . Since the fact of Trade Union Power is one which affects, and will increasingly affect the life of every citizen, it can be useful to make an attempt to put the issue in perspective, to relate the present to the past, and thus provide material for some careful thinking about the future.' .