POWER & POLITICS Flashcards
(18 cards)
Peter Pulzer
Argued that class is the basis of British politics;e verythign else is embellishment. He had a good reason to say this. Labour had won the general election in 1966 by winning more than 60% for the working class votes. And only 1 in 4 middle class voters. However, it is argues that this hypothesis no longer holds true due to rise in deviant voters
Milbrath
Types of political participation within his political activity hierarchy. Gladiators - at the top - 1 to 3% of the population and they attend strategy meetings and can even be in holing office (they are active members). Transitional activists involve 7-9% and those who support through attending rally. Spectators are about 60% and those who don’t partake and maybe just wear buttons or attempt to convince other. It require money, education and time to move up the hierarchy.
Skidmore
Paul skidmore authored a think piece titles “polls apart: democracy in an age of inequality” for the compass think tank, examining how political participation in the UK has increasingly become the dominants of the middle class. Skidmore highlights that while voter turnout has declined across all social classes, the decrease is more pronounced among less affllluent. For instance, in 1992, the turnout gap between the highest and lowest income quartiles was approximately 7%, but by 2005, it had doubled. Additionally, individuals in poorer areas are 35% less likely to be registered to vote compared to those in wealthier regions
Goldthorpe and Lockwood
Affluent workers studied by them in the 1950s further supported social class have a big influence on political participation. In the 50s and 60s there was a growing belief that with an increase in affluence workers would become assimilated to the middle class, embracing its values and social life ‘embourgeoisement’. Focusing on a prosperous town in Luton the researchers found affluent workers seemed to hold onto their working class identity and attitudes, showing little sign of moment to the middle class and staying strong in their labour support despite an increase in affluence. Therefore supporting pullers belief is on class being ‘the basis of British politics.
Ivor Crewe
Recognised the rational choice model. almost voters are not strong identifiers and have no real connection with the politician parties, they are essentially unaligned and consequently, as Ivor Crewe once remarked “votes are up for grabs”.
Frank Parkin
Another deviant voting group are middle class radicals who influence members of the middle class who vote labour. An explanation for this suggested by Frank Parkin who analysed voting from a Marxist perspective is that these groups of voters work in the public sector such as teachers and doctors who are able to empathise with people beyond their experiences because they interact with people from all class backgrounds.
Fredrick Douglas - Marxist power Q
A free American slave speaking in the 19th century, summarised much of Marxist thought surrounding power. He knew much better than most, the reality of the inequality in capitalist society and asserted “power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will”
Stephen Luke’s - Marxist power Q
A radical elite theorist, mused on the different dimension of power in society, and came to a conclusion which ties into Marxist thinking. Power operates in three key ways: making decisions, preventing certain decisions from being made, and shaping people’s beliefs without them realizing it. Neo-Marxists argue that this third type, ideological power, is why inequality continues and people don’t rebel. The ruling class controls media and education to spread ideas that keep society the same.
Althusser
Ideological sate apparatus - ISA- meaning institutions like schools and the media condition people to accept their position.
Balibar - Marxist
describes this as a “false state of consciousness”, where people believe the system is fair, even when it benefits only the elite. This prevents them from challenging the status quo.
Gramsci
talks about a hidden type of power that makes Marxism and socialism seem unpopular, even among the working class. He argues that the ruling class controls ideas and beliefs in society through cultural hegemony—making their views seem natural, normal, and good for everyone, even when they mainly benefit the rich.
Giddens - power Q - postmodernist
voters have the power to choose their own beliefs, and any attempts by the elites to change their views would not be accepted and would quickly be recognized as manipulative. Evidence of such a phenomenon, rejection of the supposed wisdom of the ‘establishment’, is the Brexit vote is an example of how people rejected the advice and predictions of experts, politicians, and the media. In the referendum, 52% of voters chose to leave the EU, despite warnings about negative economic consequences. The vote shows that many voters were determined and made their decision independently, without being influenced by what the “establishment” (e.g., politicians, experts, and newspapers) advised.
C Wright Mills
Many Marxists refer to C. Wright Mills’ study The Power Elite to explain how power works in modern society. Mills argues that in countries like the U.S. and Britain, power is controlled by three main groups: the military, politicians, and big businesses. These groups have become more connected over time, working together to maintain control.
Ralph Miliband - Marxist power Q
Argued that Britain is controlled by a small group of elites—mostly wealthy men educated at elite schools like Eton and Oxford known as the old boys network—who make important decisions behind closed doors, in private clubs and social gatherings. He believed that Parliament has little real power, acting more as a way to make the public feel heard while the real decisions are made elsewhere. Some Marxists even argue that Parliament is just a “talking shop”—a place for debate rather than real action—meant to distract or calm public frustration.
Robert Dahl
Pluralists like Robert Dahl consider pressure groups to be a fundamental component of modern democracy. In Dahl’s study of the American City of New Haven- ‘who governs?’ He examines power distribution in New Haven. His research challenges the traditional “elitist” view of power, which argued that a small, cohesive elite controls decisions making in society. Dahl found that power in New Haven was no concentrated in the hands of a single elite group but was distributed among multiple competing groups. He also argued that New Haven operated as a “polyarchy” meaning it had multiple centres of power and aided the dispersal of power. The state, compromised of politicians and acted as a neutral umpire taking decisions on which course of action best suited the community. He argued that democracy works best when multiple groups compete for influence rather than a single elite controlling all decisions.
Callinicos
On the other hand, further research done by Dahl demonstrated that his ‘neutral umpire’ view was naive and that some groups in society have more power and resources than others. From this neo- pluralism emerged and presented the idea of the system being a deformed polyarchy. This view was supported by Callinicos who quoted George Orwell by saying “groups in society are all eagles but some are more powerful than others”.
Stephen Luke’s - role of pressure groups Q
Stephen Lukes and other radical elite theorist argue Dahl’s study overlooked the deeper and more hidden forms of influence. He argues power operates at three levels; decision making (first face) which focuses on observable decisions like public debates, Non-decision making power (second face) here power is used to prevent certain issues from even being discussed, Ideological power (third face) This is the most hidden from of power. It controls what people think is important by shaping their presences and not challenging them. Dahl’s study mainly focused on the first face of power, Luke’s and other radical theorists argue that real power often operated behind the scenes. This criticises Dahls study as pluralists assume that if an issue isn’t debated, it’s because no one cares, but radical theorists say that powerful people actively suppress certain issues to maintain their dominance.
