political ideas and movements

368 Pages·2005·1.61 MB·English

harri+b.cov 27/5/03 4:15 pm Page 1
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obligation and citizenship.The role of ideology in modern h
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There is a definite need for a text of this kind.It will be ti I
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undergraduates. i
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KEVIN HARRISON IS A LECTURER IN POLITICS AND HISTORY AT s
MANCHESTER COLLEGE OF ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY. HE IS ALSO AN ASSOCIATE M and
T LECTURER IN SOCIAL SCIENCES WITH THE OPEN UNIVERSITY. HE HAS WRITTEN
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ARTICLES ON POLITICS AND HISTORY AND IS JOINT AUTHOR, WITH TONY BOYD, N
OF THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION: EVOLUTION OR REVOLUTION? A
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TONY BOYD WAS FORMERLY HEAD OF GENERAL STUDIES AT G movements O
R XAVERIAN VI FORM COLLEGE, MANCHESTER, WHERE HE TAUGHT H
POLITICS AND HISTORY. HE NOW TEACHES POLITICS AT WITHINGTON
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GIRLS SCHOOL, MANCHESTER O L
E N
I
D
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N KEVIN HARRISON I
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and TONY BOYD
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Prelims 6/5/03 2:57 pm Page i
UNDERSTANDING
POLITICAL IDEAS
AND MOVEMENTS
Prelims 6/5/03 2:57 pm Page ii
UNDERSTANDING POLITICS
Series editor DUNCAN WATTS
Following the review of the national curriculum for
16–19 year olds, UK examining boards introduced
new specifications, first used in 2001 and 2002.
A level courses are now divided into A/S level for the
first year of sixth-form studies, and the more difficult
A2 level thereafter. The Understanding Politics
series comprehensively covers the politics syllabuses
of all the major examination boards, featuring a
dedicated A/S level textbook and five books
aimed at A2 students. The books are written in an
accessible, user-friendly and jargon-free manner
and will be essential to students sitting these
examinations.
Already published
Understanding American government and
politics
Duncan Watts
Understanding A/S level government and
politics
Chris Wilson
Prelims 6/5/03 2:57 pm Page iii
Understanding
political ideas
and movements
A guide for A2 politics students
KEVIN HARRISON and TONY BOYD
Manchester University Press
Manchester and New York
distributed exclusively in the USA by Palgrave
Prelims 6/5/03 2:57 pm Page iv
Copyright © Kevin Harrison and Tony Boyd 2003
The right of Kevin Harrison and Tony Boyd to be identified as the authors of this work has been
asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Published byManchester University Press
Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9NR, UK
andRoom 400, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA
www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
Distributed exclusively in the USA by
Palgrave, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York,
NY 10010, USA
Distribued exclusively in Canada by
UBC Press, University of British Columbia, 2029 West Mall,
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z2
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for
ISBN 0 7190 6151 2 paperback
First published 2003
11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Typeset by Northern Phototypesetting Co. Ltd, Bolton
Printed in Great Britain
by Bell &Bain Ltd, Glasgow
Prelims 6/5/03 2:57 pm Page v
Contents
Preface and acknowledgements pagevii
Introduction 1
1 The state and sovereignty 16
2 The nation 37
3 Democracy 58
4 Freedom 83
5 Equality 103
6 Rights, obligations and citizenship 121
7 The role of ideology in politics and society 135
8 Nationalism 154
9 Conservatism 174
10 Liberalism 195
11 Socialism 214
12 Marxism and anarchism 237
13 Fascism 256
14 Environmentalism and ecologism 274
15 Feminism 295
Concluding remarks 309
Glossary of major figures 323
Suggested further reading 340
Index 345
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Introduction vii
Preface and acknowledgements
The contents of this book, and its general structure, have been very largely governed
by the aim of fulfilling the various examining board syllabuses for GCE Government
and Politics A2 level. It is particularly relevant to OCR (Module 7), ‘UK Politics and
Modern Political Ideas: Theory and Practice’; EDEXCEL Route B (Units 4, 5 and 6),
‘Political Ideologies’; AQA (Module 7), ‘Ideas in Contemporary British Politics’; and
AQA (Module 8), ‘Government and Politics – Synoptic Module’.
The book should also be relevant to a broad range of Open College Network Level Three
Access courses in Political Ideas, Political Studies or Modern Political Movements, and
introductory undergraduate courses in Politics.
We hope that people not studying for examinations will find this book of use in helping
them understand the political world and the assumptions that shape the clatter and
chatter of those who presume to govern us.
We must gratefully acknowledge those who have made a contribution to this book: Erik
Olive for his cynical and amusing comments on a number of chapters and Angela Dale,
who took on the daunting task of correcting grammar and spelling and untangling the
meaning of the more complicated sentences. Our heartfelt thanks to them both. Our
sincere thanks to family, friends and colleagues for tolerating us in normal times and
even more so as the book moved towards its completion.
Finally, we would like to dedicate this book to Tony Ivers, our late friend and colleague,
who is much missed.
Kevin Harrison
Tony Boyd
THE POLITICS ASSOCIATION
is a registered educational charity, committed to the diffusion of
political knowledge and understanding. It produces a wide range of
resources on government and politics, and on citizenship. Members
receive the journal, Talking Politics, three times a year.
Further details can be obtained from the Politics Association, Old Hall
Lane, Manchester, M13 0XT, Tel./Fax.: [phone]; email: [email protected]
Intro 6/5/03 3:00 pm Page 1
Introduction
(W)e should try to grasp,in outline at any rate,what the good is,and which science
or capacity is concerned with it.
It seems to concern the most controlling science,the one that,more than any other
is the master science.And political science apparently has this character.(Aristotle,
Nicomachean Ethics,Book 1:2)
A good politician is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar. (H. L. Mencken,
Prejudices,1925)
Readers will peruse this book in vain if they seek an outline of the British
political system, discussion on comparative government, identification of the
structure and roles of parties and pressure groups in modern democracies, or
even detailed discussions of the major thinkers and philosophers in the Western
political tradition. Neither will they find a guide to the detailed policies of the
major political movements in Britain and other liberal democracies.
In liberal democracies there is a belief that citizens ought to take an active
interest in what is happening in the political world. It is a view that the authors
of this book share. For generations, people have fought and died for the right
to put a cross on a piece of paper (or some other means of recording a vote)
in countries such as the UK. In far too many countries the sort of views about
the government that we regularly express in Britain land people in prison – or
worse. We strongly believe that you, as a citizen, should take an interest in
politics; after all, even if you don’t, you can rest assured that politics will take
an interest in you! During your lifetime you will be taxed, observed, regulated
and, potentially, conscripted into Her Majesty’s armed forces. You are likely to
be educated in state schools, colleges and universities, be treated at state-run
hospitals by state-trained doctors and nurses when ill, and claim state benefits
when unemployed, sick or retired.
Political debate in modern Western democracies is a complex and often rowdy
affair. It often gives the impression that it involves little thought and contem-
plation beyond shouting and opposing whatever the other side proposes as the
solution to the ills of society. Indeed, it may have contributed to declining
Intro 6/5/03 3:00 pm Page 2
2 Understanding political ideas and movements
voter turnout in most Western democracies. Some recent studies showed that
voter ‘apathy’ during the record low turnout in the 2001 general election may
have little to do with apathy and much to do with voter disappointment in
politicians and the political process. The ‘yah-boo’ behaviour of some
Westminster politicians does, nevertheless, reflect the intense passions that
politics can elicit from its participants. Think about what politicians carry
around as their intellectual baggage when they are discussing – shouting
about – some of the following questions:
• How much should be spent on health, education, welfare, defence and
transport? Should key services and industries be within the public sector,
owned by ‘the people’ or ‘the nation’ – in fact, by ‘the state’ – or would these
be more efficiently provided by the private sector of the economy?
• Is being motivated by the values of ‘public service’ likely to produce better
value for money in such services than the ‘profit motive’ of private business?
• What should be the levels of taxation in order to fund these services?
• What is the proper role of the state in society? What are the proper limits
on its powers?
• Are there areas of private life, such as religion and conscience, into which
the state should not intrude? Or does the survival of the society and the
crucial role of the state in ensuring this mean that in times of war and
economic crisis the individual and his or her liberty may have to be sacri-
ficed for the greater good? What do ‘freedom’ and ‘equality’, ‘rights’ and
‘obligations’, in the political community mean?
• Is democracy the best means by which such desirable goals can be
achieved? Indeed, what is meant by democracy?
• How ‘democratic’ are Western democracies?
• Can politics have a moral basis, or is it merely the pursuit of power?
One could go on listing questions that exercise the mind of the active citizen.
Indeed, you might believe that this list of questions has already gone too far.
If, however, you’ve evertalked about any of these issues with your friends and
family, if you are concerned with what sort of country you want to live in, what
sort of future you, your friends, family and future generations might have,
then you will have thought about these issues, and will want to pursue your
ideas further.
We do not presume to provide answers to these questions. We hope only to
provide the beginnings of a structure of core ideas and concepts that overtly
or covertly influence the political debate in countries such as ours. We
believe that much voter disillusionment about politics and politicians stems
from the failure of political and educational systems to provide voters with
the intellectual tools to analyse the vitally important issues that shape our
lives and prospects.