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This paper is a critical evaluation of Alan Fox's recent work and attempt to move away from the liberal-pluralist approach to industrial relations. Fox's early work is usually seen as forming part of the Oxford School and consequently his latest writings, for example Beyond Contract, which criticize its pluralist foundations are seen as a recantation and rejection of his earlier position. The authors argue that overall Fox's recent ideas do not represent a fundamentally radical break from liberal-pluralism. Whilst his critique of pluralism which questions the mutual dependence aspect of pluralism points in the direction of a radical analysis, his attempt to develop an alternative approach to industrial relations is based on preserving rather than rejecting the concept of mutual survival. Fox's use of the notion of trust to explore an evolutionary route to social change thus has many affinities with pluralism and is best seen as an attempt to modify pluralism in the light of changing socio-economic conditions. Whilst this is not in itself a ground for criticism, there are several problematic aspects of his recent work: there is the problem of coherency, the fact that in developing his fresh analysis he neglects some of the most important points made in his critique of pluralism, and his failure to offer a convincing high-trust route to radical change that can stand as an alternative to some kind of Marxism. None of this is to deny the possible relevance of Fox's so-called radical approach to current discussions of industrial relations. |
