Pluralism, Tripartism and the Foundation of the International Labour Organization

Abstract

In 1919 tripartism, intended as a form of cooperation between employers, employees and governments, was one of the founding principles of the International Labour Organization (ILO). The chapter explores the theoretical sources of such an idea and its ideological contents. It argues that the early twentieth century British Pluralist movement offered a model of governance predicated upon a system of codetermination between interest groups and governments that was exploited by a group of British international civil servants for creating the ILO. Furthermore, the paper suggests that this resulted in an international agency created to offer a compromise with moderate trade unions and to avoid violent social revolution. Overall, through the ILO the tripartite idea was put at the service of the post-war conservative movement, contributing to reconstructing social order and reforming capitalism.