Analyzing the agency of Taiwanese workers

More often than not, the influence of political reforms does not demonstrate itself right away afterwards, nor do reforms have consistency in how they affect the social interests of members of society. In what was described previously regarding the economic conditions confronted by Taiwanese workers —returning to the process of democratization and the circumstances they had to endure in the process of democratization —this set of circumstances has led to doubts and a lack of confidence in the democratic system. One explanation for this is that this was not a misunderstanding of democracy, but the result of what workers experienced from various social elements through the process of democratization and an inability to conduct situational analyses that were incisive enough.

Taiwanese workers confronted political changes under different historical periods, whether or not in terms of whether workers were directly causes of historical change. At the very least, from in discussing changes in workers’ political participation, we can research the foundations of workers’ active roles. For

162 Gunter Schubert, Rainer Tetzlaff, and Werner Vennewald. p. 74.

163 Gunter Schubert and Rainer Tetzlaff, Blockierte Demokratien in der Dritten Welt. 1998. p. 34.

example, in the representative system, seats originally reserved for workers were removed, industries were liberalized, and single level unions became many level unions, etc.

Apart from analyzing the active role of Taiwanese workers from the point of view of social structures, whether due to culture or racial factors, Taiwanese workers became divided in different historical periods, leading to the inactivity of Taiwanese workers, with a lack of collective consciousness. For example, divides occurred between workers with regards to language, ethnicity, public versus private sector workers, etc.

What influences led Taiwanese workers in the course of political transformations to decide to become members of strategic or conflictive groups, as well as what kind of strategic behavior or what kinds of decisions did these groups carry out in the pursuit of taking action for strategic aims? Through this kind of analysis, we can clearly see that Taiwanese workers confronted institutionalization were limited by the cultural context they existed in, setting limits on the aims they pursued, their behavior, and their group identity. This is needed to conduct an in-depth analysis of the role that Taiwanese workers had in terms of Taiwanese democratization.

Using strategic and conflictive group theory to conduct a class analysis, social structure and racial-cultural divides led to divisions between workers. Whether divided groups were strategic or conflictive groups, they had to possess social positions and shared aims similar to strategic and conflictive groups, so in analyzing and comparing the different collective identity of different groups, with regards to goal-oriented cooperation, we can examine how members of different groups attempted to pursue shared aims or compromised in doing so. Through this kind of analysis, we can explain political change and the relation between the active roles of workers, in order to describe historical fragmentation and raise the level of social scientific analysis.

Which is to say that, in analyzing Taiwanese labor’s activity according to strategic and conflictive group theory, an important aim of analysis is to observe that strategic and conflictive groups, in preparation for conflict, needed to strengthen their group self-identities and depend on their relations. When conflict takes place, groups aim to searching out other groups to ally with. Lastly, after a period of conflict had come to an end, there were members of social groups have shared collective interests to protect or expand.

Again, Taiwanese workers were divided up into different social groups based on different characteristics, and in terms of these groups’ interactions, members of these group’s attitudes and behaviors had an influence on political transformation.

As such, we can explain how members of each social group would effectively mobilize in taking collective action depended on being able to grasp sources of authority, and forming group identification and collective identity. This had an influence on one’s ability to form alliances and form larger groups.

As based on the process of whether workers participated in strategic groups or conflictive groups, on the one hand, this displays self-identification, and in terms of seeking similar or homogeneous social elements to cooperate with.

Nevertheless, situations in which self-awareness is compromised or compromised by group consciousness would lead to an inability to form alliances with other social elements consequently. Therefore, the strategic nature of a group of people is manifested in the pursuit of their common goals. Members of such groups pursued long-term strategic actions for the sake of their interests, in order to preserve them, and to adjust or change the form of government in their lives, to realize the concrete aims of strategic groups.¹⁶⁴

In this context, groups depended on their aims in order to solidify a group identity.

Confronting changes in the social situation and external environment, groups will accept changing demands or levels of greater or lesser control and regulation. On the one hand, changing demands represent a deep-seated desire to, at the very least, find the lowest common denominator of agreement. On the other hand, a goal-oriented decision is made to ensure the likelihood of that decision being carried out, forming a collective aim. In this process, strategic ability consists of gathering strategic information, deciphering it, analyzing strategy, drawing up a strategy plan, carrying out a strategy, organizing, learning, and etc.¹⁶⁵

Accordingly, social activity and aims, formed collective group consciousness mind can be analyzed as the important characteristics of different groups. For subsequent research in analyzing the active role of Taiwanese workers, we might begin from the following points:

- Was there a strategic nature to segmentation of Taiwanese workers between the strategic and conflictive groups?

- What was the cooperative behavior of Taiwanese workers and their group consciousness?

- The activity of Taiwanese workers and political transformations

- The activity of Taiwanese workers and their paths for political participation 2.5. Conclusion

164 Thomas Heberer and Gunter Schubert, “作为战略性群体的县乡干部(上)——透视中国地方政府战略能动 性的一种新方法,” trans. 刘承礼, 经济社会体制比较, no. 01 (2013): 83-93. p. 86.

Thomas Heberer and Gunter Schubert, "Zuowei zhanlue xing qunti de xian xiang ganbu (shang)--toushi zhongguo difang zhengfu zhanlue nengdongxing de yi zhong xin fangfa," trans. Liu Cheng-li, Jingji shehu tizhi bijiao, no. 01 (2013): 83-93. p. 86.

165 Here we need to make a supplementary explanation. Although this article discusses strategic groups, the strategic nature of the strategic group—pursuing the formation of group identity in order to achieve the common goal, is also something that conflict groups do. Therefore, at this level, strategic groups and conflict groups have the same strategic nature. That is, both groups pursue the formation of group identity in order to achieve the realization of common goals, but only in different ways: strategic groups choose to support the existing, and strategic groups seek to support the opposition to accomplish political changes.

Thomas Heberer and Gunter Schubert. p. 88.

According to strategic and conflictive group theory, first, Taiwanese workers constitute a social component of society and in this process, workers have the ability to choose as to whether to preserve the current system or to support the opposition in conducting political changes. Second, in terms of class analysis, social structure and racial-cultural differences lead to divides in terms of social groups, and these different groups share similar social circumstances and live in similar social situations. This molds group identity, leading to whether in the course of political transformations, one becomes a member of strategic or conflictive groups. This leads us to the following topics worthy of further investigation.

- Why has the organization of Taiwanese workers become divided into different categories? In the first chapter, we described different historical periods led to class differences, social structure, and racial and cultural differences, such as between private sector and public sector workers, workers in nationalized industries, as well as low-level office workers, and how these were workers or employees under contemporary regular conditions. But these different historical periods led to workers having either strategic or conflictive qualities, and without deep inspection and analysis, we cannot decipher the contradictory influences on political change.

- Examining the aims of strategic groups and conflictive groups, social changes leads these two groups to prepare for conflict. However, with historical opportunities, both groups will seek opportunities according to strategic behavior in a manner that cannot necessarily be explained from the point of view of the aims of a specific group, such as with the results of political changes, such as with changes to labor law. It usually requires a period of time and interactions with subsystems for one to observe what these changes have on the system as a whole. In seeking new explanations for both group’s behavior, particularly regarding what other background influences there are, there is a need to provide an account of what leads to political transformations.

- Workers and other related social elements, such as such as labor unions, labor movement groups, or opinions leaders, appear in different periods of historical change, form alliances, and split, or dissolve. Apart from analyzing their behavior in terms of strategic and cooperative groups, what other influences are there on these social components and other subsystems, internally and externally? Through analyzing social stratification, we may contribute to clarifying the facts and analyzing the collective views of contemporary Taiwanese workers towards democratization and the situations they confront.

- As such, this thesis will subsequently concern itself with this question, starting from the categorizations made by strategic and conflictive theory, analyzing the relation between Taiwanese workers and other social elements, and the embedded relationship between these components and their social circumstances, showing clearly how in Taiwanese social system which individual social, cultural circumstances and influenced the structural coupling of Taiwanese social systems and how Taiwanese laborers were unable enjoy the

fruits of democratization that other social classes did —including with regard to the possibility that workers may have lacked an active role in the process of democratization.

The process of democratization is described in the following diagram:

Figure 2.5. : Research diagram

Source: by the author

According to analysis of social elements on the basis of social and conflictive group theory, much like the diagram of social elements as described by social and conflictive group theory, on the one hand, we can clearly see the position and relation of each social element. On the other hand, in describing this, social structure is not unchanging, and it is the process of political transition, opposition parties and parties holding power change political positions, which leads to changes in social elements regarding the original division between strategic and conflictive groups.

Furthermore, social and conflictive group analysis bases its analysis on categorizing political aims, and as such, in conducting analysis of social elements in different historical periods, from comparing a contrasting currently predicted aims and results —supposing that the two are different —then there must be other forces affecting or even reversing the original intended aims and results.

The Appearance of Taiwanese Worker’s Relation and Social Structures by Characteristics Political Entities

Constituting a Structural

Core The Isolation of the Island Institutionalized but Fragmental Researching Social Elements in Different Historical Periods According to their

Embeddedness

Internal Embeddedness External Embeddedness

Detailed Analysis of Social Elements According to Social and Conflictive Group Theory

Strategic Group Conflictive Group

Figuring out what these other forces are will allow for subsequent research to become more comprehensive.

Why do workers in different historical periods decide to become members of strategic groups or conflictive groups? To rephrase, what is the active role of workers? Their motivation consists of being happy to see the groups they support becoming/continuing to be governing forces, or hoping that the groups they support will be able to defend and expand the interests of workers in the political field, particularly with regard to the economic interests of workers. This is the aim which leads laborers to become members of a group, hoping that politics or legal institutionalization will become a safeguard for workers confronting difficult circumstances.

For workers to hope and try to influence the political or legal system, such action concretely represents all of kinds of behavior by workers in terms of political participation, such as labor groups seeking legitimacy, taking up representative participation in politics, supporting specific candidates or political parties, institutionalization of consultation between labor and management, perfecting aspects of labor law, etc. As a result, for the sake of workers being able to express themselves and having the right to participate in politics, it is important to examine whether workers’ political participation can allow workers to enter the political arena. This is also another research aim of this thesis: in different historical periods, why does workers’ political participation increase or decrease?

What are the causes of fluctuation?

The following diagram indicates the viewpoint from which this thesis will investigate workers’ political participation, in terms of the social relations outlined through social and conflictive group theory.

Figure 2.6. : Diagram of labor relations within strategic groups

Source: by the author, adapted from Thomas Heberer and Gunter Schubert, 2013

Figure 2.7. : Diagram of labor relations within conflictive groups

Source: by the author, adapted from Thomas Heberer and Gunter Schubert, 2013 From the standpoint of analyzing Taiwanese social structures, owners of enterprises, functionaries, professionals, and employees are key groups in terms of labor relations, with divides between them in terms of class, information, knowledge, labor power, organizational power, and sources of mobilization. From the perspective of social behavior and organization, they can organize civic advocacy activities, social protest movements, organize guilds, labor unions, associations, form coalitions, and by other means, form alliances in order to protect their shared interests.

From a historical point of view, the leaders of labor unions play a key role in terms of whether labor relations lean towards strategic groups or conflictive groups.

Consequently, Taiwanese worker’s political participation should be analyzed first from the individual level: how at certain points in time, under certain conditions, some individuals come to hold certain positions. Under the influences of institutionalization in the course of Taiwanese democratization, what kind of changes take place in the process of political participation? In what way, then, do we answer our core research question: Can workers implement political participation in the process of democratization? If the aims of workers’ political participation and those of democratization are not the same, then what kind of influence does this have and what kind of results does this bring about?