The history of labour resembles the Tower of Babel. It has taken on enormous dimensions in order to do justice to the extraordinary diversity that characterises the world of work and its conflicts. What are the driving forces behind this? Karl Heinz Roth’s research has revolved around this question for over 50 years. This book summarises the insights the author gained from numerous case studies on European and global labour history. The working classes want to shape their own working conditions. This puts them in constant conflict with the conditions of their exploitation. They are constantly developing new forms of covert opposition and open struggle. This is why the venerable edifice of labour history will never be completed.