Methodological Approaches to Comparative Mining History

Laslett criticized Kerr and Siegel for seeing miners as universally strike-prone and radical because of their isolated work settings. He suggested that miners appeared more radical because their large numbers gave their politics an impact on local communities which was lacking in the case of workers in less concentrated industries. Laslett emphasized the variety in mining caused by differences in market structures which resulted in wide differences in price levels and market stability. Miners in fields subject to wider fluctuation would be less secure and hence more militant. He also pointed out that strikes are not the same as radicalism: while the United States had the most strikes by miners, it was the least radical in terms of miners' politics; Germany had the fewest strikes, but the most radical miners. Finally, Laslett emphasized that a comparative study of mining is possible because of the physical characteristics of the industry. He urged historians to pay more attention to the importance of geological structures, such as the width of the coal seam, in determining work processes and patterns of struggle for miners

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