Comment on "Internal Stratification of the Working Class"

W. H. Form (see SA 22:4/74H0128), fails to locate the workers in their societal setting in his discussion of Argentina. He also confuses high levels of worker "involvement" with "involvement in the system" & high levels of worker activity with "system integration." The basis of radical politics among workers is not involvement in the system but against the system. The workers were actually interacting with leaders & organizations intent on overthrowing the political regime. Form emphasizes the advantages of skilled over unskilled workers but overlooks the more politically significant disadvantage shared by both. He also incorrectly interprets his data (specifics are given). The contented cows image of the workers is inappropriate; low anomie could be better interpreted as the product of the workers' recognition of the exploitative & oppressive nature of their society & government. In THE POLITICAL CRISIS OF AFGENTINE WORKERS OR OF AMERICAN PROFESSORS?, W. H. Form (U of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana) replies that Petras & Rhodes ignored his analysis of Argentine unions & politics which agrees that the skilled workers are radicals in the context of Argentine politics. Petras & Rhodes give no systematic evidence of the inaccuracy of his interpretation. They did not read carefully; he did not ignore worker activity against the system & never suggested that class action is prevented by internal stratification of the Wc. Their reinterpretations of his data are wrong. The manifest content of the scale items provided in the footnote do not permit their interpretation of low anomie. H. Dorian.