Robert Dussart, idéaltype du syndicaliste communiste ouest-européen des Trente Glorieuses ?

Twelve Communist trade union leaders from nine nations in the prosperous post-war period are compared, on the basis of an in-depth Belgian example, in an attempt to define their common theoretical profile. Five major analogies, from family origins to the end of their careers, offer a hypothetical look at the militant career of twelve workers with little schooling who fought major socio-political conflicts with their factory workers and took on major responsibilities at the head of their union and party, not without encountering numerous problems and internal tensions. This analysis provides a glimpse into the ethos of a particular type of trade unionist and the environment that led them to surpass themselves and break through the glass ceiling of social reproduction, without betraying the aspirations and values of their class.