Farewell to the Leftist Working Class

Farewell to the Leftist Working Class PDF Author: Peter Achterberg
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351520202
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
Social conflicts and voting patterns in Western nations indicate a gradual erosion of working-class support for the left, a process that class theory itself cannot adequately explain. Farewell to the Leftist Working Class aims to fill this gap by developing, testing, and confirming an alternative explanation of rightist tendencies among the underprivileged. The authors argue that cultural issues revolving around individual liberty and maintenance of social order have become much more significant since World War II.The obligation to work and strict notions of deservingness have become central to the debate about the welfare state. Indeed, although economic egalitarianism is more typically found among the working class, it is only firmly connected to a universalistic and inclusionary progressive political ideology among the middle class.Farewell to the Leftist Working Class reports cutting-edge research into the withering away of working-class support for the left and the welfare state, drawing mostly on survey data collected in Western Europe, the United States, and other Western countries.

Farewell to the Leftist Working Class

Farewell to the Leftist Working Class PDF Author: Peter Achterberg
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351520202
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 209

Get Book Here

Book Description
Social conflicts and voting patterns in Western nations indicate a gradual erosion of working-class support for the left, a process that class theory itself cannot adequately explain. Farewell to the Leftist Working Class aims to fill this gap by developing, testing, and confirming an alternative explanation of rightist tendencies among the underprivileged. The authors argue that cultural issues revolving around individual liberty and maintenance of social order have become much more significant since World War II.The obligation to work and strict notions of deservingness have become central to the debate about the welfare state. Indeed, although economic egalitarianism is more typically found among the working class, it is only firmly connected to a universalistic and inclusionary progressive political ideology among the middle class.Farewell to the Leftist Working Class reports cutting-edge research into the withering away of working-class support for the left and the welfare state, drawing mostly on survey data collected in Western Europe, the United States, and other Western countries.

Farewell to the Working Class

Farewell to the Working Class PDF Author: André Gorz
Publisher: Pluto Press
ISBN: 9780861043644
Category : Capitalism
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
André Gorz argues that changes in the role of the work and labour process in the closing decades of the twentieth century have, once and for all, weakened the power of skilled industrial workers. Their place has been taken, says Gorz, by social movements such as the womenʹs movement and the green movement, and all those who refuse to accept the work ethic so fundamental to early capitalist societies. Provocative and heretical, Farewell to the Working Class is a classic study of labour and unemployment in the post-industrial world.

Entryism and the Revolutionary Socialist Left in Britain

Entryism and the Revolutionary Socialist Left in Britain PDF Author: Nicolas Sigoillot
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1003816088
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
This book examines entryism in the context of the revolutionary socialist left in Britain, from the inception of the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1920 to the departure of Militant from the Labour Party in 1992. Entryism is a tactic of penetration of a political party by another, aimed at accomplishing objectives, the nature of which can change depending on the type of entry. This work shows to what extent there is not one type of entryism but several. The adopted methodology is chronological, with introductory chapters that study the context and the previous partial-only attempts to define entryism. The first part of the volume is dedicated to the relationship between the Communist Party of Great Britain and the Labour Party up until the middle of the 20th century. The following two parts are dedicated to British Trotskyists before and after the Second World War. In total, 17 organisations that have practiced entryism are examined. Through their objectives, practices, and results, this work intends to formulate an exhaustive typology of the tactic, which fills a definitional gap in political science and covers an aspect of Labour’s History that has only been partially covered. This volume will be of use to students and scholars interested in the history of the Labour Party and the Far Left in the United Kingdom.

Diploma Democracy

Diploma Democracy PDF Author: Mark Bovens
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192507907
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 247

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Book Description
Lay politics lies at the heart of democracy. Political offices are the only offices for which no formal qualifications are required. Contemporary political practices are diametrically opposed to this constitutional ideal. Most democracies in Western Europe are diploma democracies - ruled by those with the highest formal qualifications. Citizens with low or medium educational qualifications currently make up about 70 percent of the electorates, yet they have become virtually absent from almost all political arenas. University graduates have come to dominate all political institutions and venues, from political parties, parliaments and cabinets, to organised interests, deliberative settings, and Internet consultations. This rise of a political meritocracy is part of larger trend. In the information society, educational background, like class or religion, is an important source of social and political divides. Those who are well educated tend to be cosmopolitans, whereas the lesser educated citizens are more likely to be nationalists. This book documents the context, contours, and consequences of this rise of a political meritocracy. It explores the domination of higher educated citizens in political participation, civil society, and political office in Western Europe. It discusses the consequences of this rise of a political meritocracy, such as descriptive deficits, policy incongruences, biased standards, and cynicism and distrust. Also, it looks at ways to remedy, or at least mitigate, some of the negative effects of diploma democracy.

Why the Left Loses

Why the Left Loses PDF Author: Kennedy, Paul
Publisher: Policy Press
ISBN: 1447332660
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
Around the world, parties of the left and center-left have been struggling, losing ground to right-wing parties and various forms of reactionary populism. This book brings together a range of leading academics and experts on social democratic politics and policy to offer an international, comparative view of the changing political landscape. Using case studies from the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, France, Australia and New Zealand contributors argue that despite different local and specific contexts, the mainstream center-left is beset by a range of common challenges. Analysis focuses on institutional and structural factors, the role of key individuals, and the atrophy of progressive ideas as interconnected reasons for the current struggles of the center-left.

Left and Right

Left and Right PDF Author: John T. Jost
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190858338
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
John Jost tackles fundamental questions about politics, sociology, and psychology. In what sense are ordinary citizens "ideological"? It is useful to locate attitudes on a left-right dimension? Are there meaningful differences in the psychological characteristics of leftists and rightists? What contextual factors trigger progressive and conservative shifts in society? Drawing on the concept of elective affinities, one of the world's leading political psychologists describes the ways in which people choose ideas and ideas choose people. --

Elgar Encyclopedia of Political Sociology

Elgar Encyclopedia of Political Sociology PDF Author: Maria Grasso
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 1803921234
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 723

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Book Description
This comprehensive and authoritative Encyclopedia, featuring entries written by academic experts in the field, explores the diverse topics within the discipline of political sociology. By looking at both macro- and micro-components, questions relating to nation-states, political institutions and their development, and the sources of social and political change such as social movements and other forms of contentious politics, are raised and critically analysed.

After the Third Way

After the Third Way PDF Author: Olaf Cramme
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0857721119
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
The social democratic parties were once the strongest political forces in Europe. Today, however, they appear disorientated and rudderless, crucially lacking the ideological, intellectual and organisational vitality which underpinned their strength in the post-war political landscape. Electorally marginalised, seemingly ideologically exhausted and often out-of-step with the contemporary zeitgeist, European social democracy is currently in profound need of revision and renewal - potentially its very existence as a political force is under threat. This book marks a serious attempt to forge the intellectual backbone of a renewed social democracy fit for the twenty-first century. Bringing together leading academics, political thinkers and policy experts, it offers a new and original perspective on ideological and policy innovation and will be invaluable reading for anyone interested in the future of social democracy.

The New Politics of Class

The New Politics of Class PDF Author: Geoffrey Evans
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198755759
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
This book explores the new politics of class in 21st century Britain. It shows how the changing shape of the class structure since 1945 has led political parties to change, which has both reduced class voting and increased class non-voting. This argument is developed in three stages. The first is to show that there has been enormous social continuity in class divisions. The authors demonstrate this using extensive evidence on class and educational inequality, perceptions of inequality, identity and awareness, and political attitudes over more than fifty years. The second stage is to show that there has been enormous political change in response to changing class sizes. Party policies, politicians' rhetoric, and the social composition of political elites have radically altered. Parties offer similar policies, appeal less to specific classes, and are populated by people from more similar backgrounds. Simultaneously the mass media have stopped talking about the politics of class. The third stage is to show that these political changes have had three major consequences. First, as Labour and the Conservatives became more similar, class differences in party preferences disappeared. Second, new parties, most notably UKIP, have taken working class voters from the mainstream parties. Third, and most importantly, the lack of choice offered by the mainstream parties has led to a huge increase in class-based abstention from voting. Working class people have become much less likely to vote. In that sense, Britain appears to have followed the US down a path of working class political exclusion, ultimately undermining the representativeness of our democracy. They conclude with a discussion of the Brexit referendum and the role that working class alienation played in its historic outcome.

Developments in European Politics 3

Developments in European Politics 3 PDF Author: Veronica Anghel
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 135033636X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
Developments in European Politics considers what Europe is, where it came from, and what European citizens can make of it. It brings together specially commissioned chapters by leading authorities to give an up-to-date and systematic analysis of European political developments – in institutions, processes and policy – at national, regional and international levels. It provides wide-ranging and clear analysis of the factors influencing European politics, from populism and extremism in national politics to the broader forces of globalization, immigration, climate change and international terrorism. Bringing together a brand new contributor team, this new edition offers: - More coverage of Europe's role in the world - Increased focus on the attitudes of European citizens as the motor of European politics - End of chapter reading suggestions and key questions, enabling readers to engage with the important issues at stake - An overarching framework that hones in on four contemporary themes: the rise of authoritarian politics, the mismanagement of globalization, the perception of collective insecurity, and the disintegration of Europe. This is an ideal text for students undertaking courses on European Politics, as well as anyone interested in understanding the political challenges facing Europe today.