Public, private, politics

Don Slater (1998) discusses the ‘public/private’ dichotomy

• Initially he sets the scene how this social distinction emerged in Ancient Greece, where only propertied, male, free citizens (a small proportion of the population) could participate in the highly esteemed public realm.

• Having said this, in the UK younger people, women and the ‘working classes’ only obtained the vote (Franchise) relatively recently…

Public v Private

• Slater’s complex account identifies some of the underpinning ideas that still influence the public state’s relationship with the private sphere of the home.

• Discuss in small groups how you think

has blurred the distinction between the public and the private world

Ideology or Pragmatics?

• Kavanagh claims that The Labour Party owes more to Methodism rather than Marxism.

• Kavanagh goes on to state that British Party Politics tends towards the pragmatic rather than the ideological.

• Politians on all sides a wary of using the term ‘ideological’ in describing their approach, in order to avoid accusations of ‘dogma’.

• Never-the-less, certain enduring ideas can be found shaping party political discourse and ideas.

Statecraft

Oakeshott is critical of a ‘perverse’ ideological approach to politics, likening it to learning to cook from a cookery book rather than learning through practice.

Left and Right

• A familiar ideological classification is the left-right dimension.

• It originates from the French Revolution of 1789: The propertied kings allies sat on his Right, while his opponents, the commoners sat on his left.

• Over time this dimension has evolved into the following slide.

Far Left Centre- Left Centre Centre- Right Far Right

Political spectrum: the standard linear model

Socialists Liberal Conservatives Ultraconservatives

Communists Liberals Conservatives Fascists

Radicals Reactionaries

If you stand for nothing; you’ll fall for anything

• Despite shying away from wanting to be associated with underpinning ideologies, many politicians like to claim that their actions are rooted in values and principles.

• In small groups try to list what you think these parties stand for:

Labour Party Liberal Party Conservative Party

Kavanagh identifies these four tensions between political approaches

both between and within parties (There are others too!)

• State management of the economy versus the free market.

• Collective provision of services versus more individual choice

• Promoting greater equality of income versus encouraging meritocracy

• Preferring low rates of income tax over boosting public spending

Was there a consensus?

• Some authors refer to post war period from 1945 to about 1970 as the ‘consensus’ period. Some contest this term.

• The consensus period describes the tendency of alternating Labour and Conservative governments to implement broadly similar policies and share similar ideologies for example Keynsian economic policy, state owned services and full employment.

Conservativism

• Post war Conservativism accepted a ‘paternalistic’ and ‘pragmatic’ role for the state to correct the harshness of market failure.

• The Conservatives also recognise that their policies must promote full employment and welfare (addressing Beveridge’s ‘5 Giants’) to win the expanding working class vote.

Thatcher’s ‘Conviction’ Politics

• Following Margaret Thatcher’s election as Conservative Leader in 1975, the Conservatives began to break with the ‘consensus’ tradition.

• Influenced by ‘The New Right’, Thatcherite politicians claimed Conservative ideology and policy had slipped to far into the centre and even towards socialism.

• The consequences for the British people was welfare dependency and a ‘soft’ ‘nanny state’.

The New Right rebadges Liberalism

• The New Right Conservatives began adopting many of the ideological values of the 19th Century Liberal Party.

• Although it tends to be referred to as ‘neo liberalism’ to distinguish its nuanced qualities from the 19th

Century brand.

• During the 1970’s The Conservative’s moved ideologically to ‘the right’ while Labour moved ideologically to ‘the left’.

• This shift proved problematic for Labour throughout the 1980’s prompting a rebranding and distancing under Blair as ‘New Labour’

Boom and BustIn times of recession, there is disagreement as to how to alleviate the problem.1.Keyensian approach, as in the post war consensus is to borrow money to stimulate growth; promoted through full employment.2. Monetarist approach of Friedman and Hayek: Let the market decide.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nERTFo-Sk

The Working Class and Labour• Throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s a number

of factors affected the appeal of traditional left-wing Labour politics.

New LabourTony Blair sought to lead the New Labour Party and accepted many established neoliberal ideas including equality of opportunity rather than of outcome, benefits to encourage people into work and Every Child Matters.

Read Kavanagh pages 70-75

• What are 8 key facts about Liberal Ideology?

• What are 8 key facts about Conservative Ideology?

• What are 8 key facts about socialist Ideology?

Liberal Ideology: “liberty equality fraternity” (See Spicker for more)

• Individualism• Equality• Rights i.e. to ‘Freedom’, ‘Property’• Pluralism – diversity through choice• People are ‘rational’ and make their own best

choices.• Economic freedom to contract• Varied with regard to extent of state intervention• NB- USA critiques of ‘liberalism’ position it where

the UK would position Labour/Socialist ideology.

Conservative Ideology/Tradition (see Pinker for more)

• Sceptical of the ‘enlightenment’ (1700’s) challenge to tradition: Against ‘rampant’ individualism and state control.

• Human beings are like naughty children.• Socialisation and civic responsibility comes from traditional

institutions such as the church and family.• Ambiguous regarding ‘market forces’.• Organic, natural, ‘common sense’ view of society: All things Bright

and Beautiful: The rich man in his castle,The poor man at his gate,God made them high and lowly,And ordered their estate• Tension between advocating for a small state but centralised,

powerful state. Is this possible?

Socialist Ideology (see Dean for more)

• Humanistic

• Collectivist

• Egalitarian

• Opposed to industrial capitalism (Owners v Workers)

• Many Marxists are critical of ‘the state’ holding that it serves the devisive purposes of capitalism.

• Historical development through conflict.

• Softened ‘revisionist/gradualist’ approach based on political reform.

The Third Way (see Powell for more)

• Developed by British Sociologist Anthony Giddens; adviser to Tony Blair.

• Traditional Political Ideologies are ‘out of date’.

• Globalisation and complexity a new ‘third’; neither left-wing nor right-wing response.

• Draws upon economic liberalism, communitarianism, opportunity for all and stakeholding.

Much of the ethos of The Third Way can be seen in the manifestation of

Every Child Matters

Some conclusions…

• Overtime, political parties have emphasised differing (apparently contradictory?) aspects of their values and ideology to appeal to the democratic public.

• Although most of the debate has taken place between Labour and Conservatives, in recent times both parties borrowed heavily from 19th Century Liberalism:

a) Conservatives as ‘The New Right’b) Labour as ‘The Third Way’• The left/right wing distinction can still serve as a useful tool for

analysis in understanding how different parties emphasise ‘individualism’ and ‘collectivism’ among other things.

• Policies such as Every Child Matters and Troubled Families are influenced by certain political and ideological views as to what ‘individuals’ and ‘families’ should ‘be’ and what the state should or should not provide…

References