Unemployment reached unprecedented levels in Britain during the 1980s, but this did not result in widespread social protest. During the 1930s, in comparison, protest was well organised and widespread. In this book the author sets out to explain why. The book develops a theoretical analysis of the changing relationship between the unemployed and the state and a theory of mobilization and collective action. Using interviews with the unemployed during the 1980s, those who have been involved in attempts to organize the unemployed are compared with those who have been quiescent.