Transcript The Socio-Economic and Historical Context of UK Government

POLITICAL CULTURE
AND SOCIALISATION
Government of UK & Ireland
INTRODUCTION
• Political beliefs and attitudes have a significant impact
on the political system and its system of government.
Political culture is composed of the beliefs, attitudes
and behavioural patterns of a political community,
forming part of the more general culture of a society.
• Perception is often as important as fact – if enough
believe something to be the case and act accordingly,
then reason and rational argument may count for little.
• While elections can measure attitudes on the basis of
‘one person one vote’, they cannot measure intensity of
preference. This can be done through opinion surveys.
• How do attitudes affect behaviour – strength of views
on issues shapes how will they be motivated to act.
BRITISH POLITICAL CULTURE(S)
• Traditionally, the political culture of the UK was seen
as embodying several characteristics
homogenous (or sameness/relative uniformity)
deference
consensual
tradition
sense of stability and historical continuity
national unity - the unitary state
cohesiveness (incl. urbanised communities)
• Almond and Verba’s ‘The Civic Culture’
• “We live in a fortunate and relatively gentle part of the
continent” (Norman Davies, Oxford Historian).
• National ‘characteristics’
capacity for innovation and invention
obsessive (pets, football, the weather)
tolerance
patience
love of the underdog
stoicism
red telephone boxes (!)
unarmed police/‘bobby’ on the beat
‘humour Anglais’ – double entendre (Carry On,
Monty Python, seaside slapstick comedy)
slow to rouse but leonine in battle
the corner shop
fish and chips, roast beef and Yorkshire pudding
afternoon tea
• Homogeneity
in GB, divisions of religion, region, language
and even class are fairly rare;
religious differences largely confined to NI;
linguistic minorities confined to periphery;
an almost fully ‘urbanised’ society;
regional differences/disputes are low-key, despite
strong local/regional variations
• Threats to homogeneity
nationalist pressures in Ulster, Scotland & Wales;
mass immigration since 1945 occasioned greater
division on ethnic/racial/religious lines especially in
poorer urban areas;
inner-city/suburb divisions reflect economic change;
the ‘North/South’ divide
the rise of the socio-economic underclass and its
consequences.
Nationalism on the march
• Deference
typically, the populace (hoi polloi) defer or submit to
a governing elite, especially Royalty and authority
figures like the Police & other professional groups
working class support for the Conservative Party;
orderly conduct and sense of ‘shame’ as a restraint;
passive queues and social tolerance.
• Threats to deference
economic decline/recession can strain social relations;
declining respect for authority, partly caused by
revelations of scandal, sleaze and corruption;
rising crime, anti-social behaviour and disorder,
possibly due to the demise of the traditional family;
disaffection with conventional politics/rise of protest
impoverishment of language/boorishness;
cynicism/alienation.
• Consensus
agreement on the ‘rules of the game’;
substantial agreement on policies (especially defence,
foreign affairs, terrorism and economic management)
after 1945 to 1970s.
• Threats to consensus
divergence of party policies during the 1970s & 80s
especially over defence and the economy;
growing calls for constitutional changes to the ‘rules
of the game’.
• Tradition
“Not only does tradition serve to attract the
tourists. It evokes historical memories which add
legitimacy to the overall political system. It
impresses public office holders with the dignity
and responsibility of their positions. It stimulates
patriotism, national pride and unity amongst the
British people. Democracy has been won through
gradual reform. The evolution has been aided by
the absence of political absolutism. The colonies
offered an ‘exit’ option for many of those groups
and individuals with religious or political
grievances” (Frank Wilson, US political scientist).
• A sense of stability and continuity
In the study of comparative politics, England (read the UK
or at least GB) is important as a deviant case, deviant
because of its success in coping with the many problems of
the modern world. Just as Alexis de Tocqueville travelled
to America in 1831 to seek the secrets of democracy, so
today one might travel to England (GB) in search of the
secrets of stable representative government” (Rose,
Politics in England, p.1).
• This Sceptred Isle?
• This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, his realm, this England
From Richard II, Act 2 (Shakespeare)
POLITICAL SOCIALISATION
• People are influenced by their environment
• The process of acquiring knowledge, beliefs and attitudes
is a political education
• Usually, the greatest influence in younger people comes
from parents but includes schools (peers and teachers),
work, neighbourhoods, churches, clubs and societies.
• The media, especially television, provides a continued
stream of political commentary.
• Governments and politicians also feed into the process of
political socialisation, acting as opinion formers and
seeking to win over the support of ordinary people by
offering ‘popular’ messages.
• Some governments and agencies go to extraordinary steps,
especially if their own or national survival is at stake –
propaganda, indoctrination and censorship are used in
democracies as well as other forms of regime.
• The family
“They fuck you up your mum and dad.
They may not mean to but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you”
(Philip Larkin, poet, This be the verse, 1922-85)
• “Far from being the basis of the good society, the family,
with its narrow privacy and tawdry secrets, is the source of
all our discontents.”
(Edmund Leach, social anthropologist, BBC Reith
Lectures, 1967).
Conclusions
• All societies possess a political culture as part of their
general culture.
• The political culture of the UK has been characterised
by a longstanding stability based on a large measure of
deference and consensus.
• Critics suggest that the fault lines in British society
(based on class, gender and race) run far more deeply
than is often portrayed in idealised interpretations.
• Undoubtedly, whether through genuine contentment of
the populace, or their apathy or sense of disaffection &
alienation, the UK has enjoyed relative stability in its
system of government, largely attributable to its
particular political culture.