harri+b.cov 27/5/03 4:15 pm Page 1 UNDERSTANDINGPOLITICS Understanding RITTEN with the A2 component of the GCE WGovernment and Politics A level in mind, this book is a comprehensive introduction to the political ideas and movements that created the modern world. Underpinned by the work of major thinkers such as Hobbes, Locke, Marx, Mill, Weber and others, the first half of the book looks at core political concepts including the British and European political issues state and sovereignty, the nation, democracy, representation and legitimacy, freedom, equality and rights, obligation and citizenship. The role of ideology in modern politics and society is also discussed. The second half of the book addresses established ideologies such as Conservatism, Liberalism, Socialism, Marxism and Nationalism, before moving on to more recent movements such as Environmentalism and Ecologism, Fascism, and Feminism. The subject is covered in a clear, accessible style, including Understanding a number of student-friendly features, such as chapter summaries, key points to consider, definitions and tips for further sources of information. There is a definite need for a text of this kind. It will be invaluable for students of Government and Politics on introductory courses, whether they be A level candidates or undergraduates. political ideas KEVIN HARRISON IS A LECTURER IN POLITICS AND HISTORY AT MANCHESTER COLLEGE OF ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY. HE IS ALSO AN ASSOCIATE McNAUGHTON LECTURER IN SOCIAL SCIENCES WITH THE OPEN UNIVERSITY. HE HAS WRITTEN ARTICLES ON POLITICS AND HISTORY AND IS JOINT AUTHOR, WITH TONY BOYD, OF THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION: EVOLUTION OR REVOLUTION? and TONY BOYD WAS FORMERLY HEAD OF GENERAL STUDIES AT XAVERIAN VI FORM COLLEGE, MANCHESTER, WHERE HE TAUGHT POLITICS AND HISTORY. HE NOW TEACHES POLITICS AT WITHINGTON GIRLS SCHOOL, MANCHESTER movements KEVIN HARRISON and TONY BOYD UNDERSTANDINGPOLITICS 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 by Manchester University Press Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9NR, UK and Room 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 111009080706050403 10987654321 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 page vii 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 Prelims 6/5/03 2:57 pm Page vi Prelims 6/5/03 2:57 pm Page vii 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.: 0161 256 3906; 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,