Dig Where You Stand: How to Research a Job

by Sven Lindqvist, Andrew Flinn (Editor), Astrid von Rosen (Editor)

On the 45th anniversary of its initial publication in Swedish, Sven Lindqvist's polemic on history, politics and power is finally available in English for the first time.

This volume brings Dig Where You Stand , Sven Lindqvist's classic text on history, power and politics, to English-speaking audiences for the first time.

First published in 1978, Dig Where You Stand is a rallying cry for workers to become researchers, to follow the money, take on the role as experts on their job, and "dig" out its hidden histories in order to take a vital step towards social and economic transformation.

A how-to guide that inspired an entire movement, it makes the case that everyone – not just academics – can learn how to critically and rigorously explore history, especially their own history, and in doing so find a blueprint for how to transform society for the better.

In a world where the balance of power is overwhelmingly stacked against the working-class, Dig Where You Stand 's manifesto for the empowerment of workers through self-education, historical research and political solidarity is as important and relevant today as it was in 1978.

393 pages, Paperback

Published March 14, 2023

About the author

Dr. Sven Lindqvist was a Swedish author of mostly non-fiction.

He held a PhD in History of literature from Stockholm University (his thesis, in 1966, was on Vilhelm Ekelund) and a 1979 honorary doctorate from Uppsala University. In 1960–1961, he worked as cultural attaché at the Swedish embassy in Beijing, China. From 1956–86 he was married to Cecilia Lindqvist, with whom he had two children. He was married to the economist Agneta Stark since 1986. He lived in the Södermalm area of central Stockholm.

Reviews

[Owen Hatherley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not expect this, knowing the slogan and the author, to be a Deep Dive into the history working conditions and management wealth of the Swedish cement industry: but that it makes such a subject very interesting and excellent educational-agitational material is very much proof of the rightness of the project!

[Ruairí]

Not quite workers’ inquiry, not simply ‘history from below’ either (a secret third thing?). Lindqvist’s ‘barefoot research’ is a kind of archival and oral history practice put to more immediately political uses. The research isn’t intended, like Thompson, to rescue various figures from the ‘enormous condescension of posterity’ but to right contemporary wrongs through - how else? - putting them into service of class struggle. As he repeatedly points out, workers’ history isn’t antiquarian, but lives concretely (haha) in the built environment, the capital that employers accumulate. I don’t know if you could easily do all of this today in a more post-industrial society, but there is lots of rich experience to pull from and experiment with in contemporary practices of self organised research, study and organisation.

[Delilah Wallbank · Rating 5 out of 5]

"history still lives" in the bodies of workers but even more so in the capital that remains. This book offers a mass of ways to think about and study work from the perspectives of workers themselves drawing on historical records that have more often than not ignored them

[Dante · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eclectic and impassioned, Lindqvist's profound contribution to a 'history from below' ethos is clear for all to see. It cannot be neatly subsumed into 'workers' inquiry' or life-writing, nor standad local micro-history writing, and instead threads together a huge array of possible avenues for interrogating past and present. Although quite uneven in parts, and lacking clear orientation even if resolutely political, it's a unique 'handbook'.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

"This is a research handbook for non-professional researchers. It describes thirty different ways of investigating a job and a place of work".

This book was first published in 1978 in Sweden for Swedish workers and it feels. Now it´s being translated into English for the first time and published onto English speaking market and I can´t help but to feel, that it's either 45 years too late or this text needs a serious update. Now, there is a note that the editors decided to keep the text as close to the original as possible and made only very minor changes including making some of the language more gender neutral. Seriously? Gender neutral is the last thing we care about, and Lindquist certainly did not care at all.

Lindqvist urges us to do proper research about our jobs. Why? I´ll get to that later. For now, let´s just say that he urges workers across all industries to ask questions. What are the working conditions of workers in my field in other countries? Do they work differently? Do they use a different technology? Why not go to other countries and see it all yourself? We all should be asking questions about the companies we work for, no doubt. We should inquire about their past, the union, the workers' commune, local history, etc. How are we supposed to find answers to all these questions? Well, this is where we can see how outdated in terms of technology this book is. Here´s a quote: " Write to your local paper, your trade union journal, to radio or television and suggest that they report on the industry that involves your job in some of the countries that interest you." Also, Lindqvist is sending us to the libraries and archives. Don´t get me wrong, I totally love these institutions, and the internet didn´t exist back then, but, what I mean here is that his hints as to how to conduct the research are so... archaic. At least the editors could have made a note or two for the younger generations... I grew up in 80. so I have no problem with all that, but younger than me don´t even know what a dictionary is, not to mention how to use it, so...

It´s interesting to see how the attitude towards workers had changed over the years. When the author writes about occupational hazards he takes for example a welding job:
"The information on disadvantages and hazards connected with different jobs is also very incomplete. The word "disadvantage" is not even used. Instead they talk about "occupational requirements". The 1969 edition requires from a welder: good eyesight. The light when welding is strongly blinding, and negligence with protective eye-glasses could lead to damaged sight. Strong back, legs, and feet. Much of the work is done standing up. (...). Good balance. When working on wharfs and bridges, the welder may have to work on scaffolding, where there is risk of falling." And so on. And then he explains what it really means: "The blinding light is, in other words, presented as a demand for good eyesight. Risk of falling as a demand for balance, gasses as a demand for strong lungs. Who are making the demands? According to the index, not the employer but the job itself." !!!
This is how it used to be. Now we have protective laws, risk assessments, insurance, etc. and we held the employer responsible when an accident occurs and a worker gets injured. And thank goodness for that!

Another way of researching the job is to go to the factory inspectorate. I have no idea what that is. He walks into the reception and says: "Good morning, I´m a Swedish citizen and I've come to see some official documents." The receptionist calls the legal expert and after a short conversation, he happily hives to Lindqvist whatever he wants. It sounds so storage, honestly. I can´t imagine something like that happening in a real life. I´d be kicked out by security no doubt. So fair play to him and to Swedish society!
Then he moves on to accidents, also those who proved to be fatal. The examples quoted here are truly gruesome, but it actually makes to realize how far in terms of health and safety we have come.

What is really important and has not aged at all is that he tells us to look at who owns what and if they do pay their taxes. I assume we all know why. No one wants to work for the bad guy, right? Today we would ask more questions than Lindqvist did: does a particular employer treat his employees fairly? according to the current standards? Does he comply with labour rights? Is the employer taking care of the natural environment and complying with climate change regulations? etc.

In other words, what the author says here, although in quite an archaic manner, is to look at the hands of our employers. Be aware of what is going on, ask questions. And when it´s necessary demand a change and hold the company responsible. Like Victor Hugo once said: You are the force! He meant the people, because without us, the grey mass, they wouldn´t have their businesses and their money. We are the force.

Im giving the book 4 stars, because the idea behind this book matters now more than ever. It´s just that someone should re-write it all over again.

[Oscar Jelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

If Inside The Factory were presented by an affably sardonic Swedish social democrat rather than a glabrous Cockney sex pest, except it's a book.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating translation of a book from the 1970s about history from below and how it can be used to understand work