w for them"(Gaventa,1980:59). They were usually those in positions of political leadership where they could benefit the company and promote its best interests. Next were a class of small entrepreneurs and professionals who were attracted to the booming city by its promising commercial future. The bottom of the hierarchy consisted of labourers, miners and other manual labour workers. This class was composed mainly of those who were originally from the region and had come from a rural background, while the 'upper classes' had been derived primarily of those attracted to the area because of its economic potential. "[Mobility] was of a horizontal nature, the coming together in one area of various representatives of pre-existing strata from other areas"(Gaventa,1980:57). The workers were therefore destined to poverty and inequality, but also had to endure such things as poor and even dangerous working conditions with few health benefits and little compensation. And one cannot forget the ongoing demise of their valley as entire mountain sides were stripped away and the air and water were blackened with millions of tiny coal particles. Why then, in this state of economic, social and even environmental depravation did the people not cry out with enough strength to be heard? While nearby mining communities experiencing similar conditions responded with militant, collective organizations, Middlesborough expressed grievances but never took the form of organized action or went as far as creating a consciousness of the situation. The first, second and thi...
