Industrial Conflict and Its Mediation

Industrial conflict, inevitable in a democratic society, serves certain social purposes: it assists in the solution of controversies, it may reduce intergroup tensions, and it may benefit the worker by balancing management power against union power. "Tactical" mediation can reduce aggresive industrial conflict by decreasing irrationality, by removing nonrationality, by aiding in the exploration of solution, by abetting the parties in making graceful retreats, and by raising the cost of conflict, but its general contribution cannot be large; "strategical" mediation, or the structuring of theenvironment, on the other hand, can effect major changes. It involves the better integration of workers and employers into society, the increased stability of society, the development of ideological compatibility, the arrangement of secure and responsive relationship among leaders and members, the dispersion of grievances, and the establishment of effective rules of the game.