Deliberative democracy and social agency: Competences, training and capabilities in trade unions

Abstract

Post-Fordism marks a transition from a society of labour (single tenured job) to a society of tasks (multiple—and, eventually, casual—jobs). Beforehand, blue collars represented the Fordist production system; nowadays, casual workers are the paradigm of a new organizational logic. Accordingly, vocational training is not any more the mere induction in order to fill new vacancies; rather, it has shifted towards life-long learning. Such process poses a question to the trade union, which is required to represent a liquid
society. Traditional union training does not supply union officers with competences that enable them to cope with the previously unheard complexity emerging from globalization. Sen’s and Nussbaum’s capability approach may help unions to face nowadays’ challenges, thus making the subject an end rather than the econometric means of neo-liberal economy—so that
the meritocracy of the winners is replaced by democracy for all.