A detailed, in-depth summary of chapter 8 of the book Politics by Andrew Heywood. The summary includes all terms and definitions and is sufficient scope for an exam. This book is often used for first-year political science courses.
Summary of Introduction to Political Science Part 2- Final
Summary Introduction to Political Science Part 1- Midterm (Readings and Lectures)
All for this textbook (20)
Written for
Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA)
European Politics And Global Change
7321E020FY
All documents for this subject (12)
Seller
Follow
natyprycova
Reviews received
Content preview
CHAPTER 8 – POLITICIS, SOCIETY, AND IDENTITY
- Politics is a social activity
- Declining significance of social class
Politics and society
- What do we mean by society? Collection of people who occupy the same territorial
area
o Regular pattern of social interaction, sense of connectedness, mutual
awareness
- Status → person’s position within a hierarchical order
- Society can shape politics in few ways
o The distribution of wealth and other resources in society conditions the
nature of state power
o Social divisions and conflicts help to bring about political change in the form
of legitimation crises
o Society influences public opinion and the political culture
o The social structure shapes political behaviour, who votes, how they vote,
who join parties
- Trying to define the content of human nature
o Marxists → irreconcilable conflict
o Liberals → harmony exists amongst competing interests and groups
- Modern society appears to be characterized by hollowing out of social
connectedness → from thick connectedness (close social bonds) to thin (more fluid
and individual)
From industrialisation to post industrialism
- Dramatic increase in geographical mobility
- German sociologist Tonnies → Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft
o Gemeinschaft → community, social ties typically found in traditional societies
and characterized by natural affection and mutual respect
o Gesellschaft → association, the loose, artificial and contractual bonds
typically found in urban and industrial societies
- Marxist → class is the most fundamental, social division
- Class consciousness → a Marxist term denoting a subjective awareness of a class’s
objective situation and interests, the opposite of false consciousness
Decline of class politics
- Marxist model – discredited by the failure of Marx’s predictions to materialize
- Societies are increasingly complex
- Post-industrial society → society based on service industries, rather than on
manufacturing industries, and accompanied by a significant in the white-collar
workforce
, - Atomism → the tendency for society to be made up of a collection of self-interested
and largely self-suffici9ent individuals, operating as separate atoms
- Social class → group of people who share a similar social and economic position
- Two-thirds and one-third moment
o Two-thirds are relatively prosperous – social levelling and high education
o Underclass – suffers less from poverty but more from social exclusion, a
poorly defined and politically controversial term that refers, to people who
suffer from multiple deprivation
- Fordism, post-Fordism → large-scale mass-production methods pioneered by Henry
Ford in Detroit UDS
New technology and the information society
- Increased importance placed on knowledge and information and intellectual capital
- Birth of the information age
- Internet → a global network of networks that connects computers around the world,
virtual space in which users can access and disseminate online information
- Connectivity → a computer buzzword that refers to the links between one device
and others, affecting the speed, ease and extent of information exchanges
- Knowledge economy → an economy in which knowledge is the key source of
competitiveness and productivity, especially through the application of information
and communications technology
- John Kenneth Galbraith
o Canadian economists and social theorist
o One of the most prominent social commentators
- Network → a means of coordination social life through loose and informal
relationships between people or organizations, usually for the purpose of knowledge
dissemination or exchange
- Information society → society in which the creation, distribution and manipulation of
information are core economic and cultural activities, underpinned by the wider use
of computerized processes and the internet
o Internet does not discriminate between good and bad ones
- Cult of information → people are no longer able to distinguish between information
and knowledge
No such thing as society?
- Thinning of social connectedness – the rise of individualism
o Before people were seen as members of social groups
- Rise of individualism is widely seen as a consequence of the establishment of
industrial capitalism – broader range of choices and social possibilities
- Economic individualism → the belief that individuals are entitled to autonomy in
matters of economic decision-making, linked to property rights
- Individualism has been strengthened by the growth in consumer society and the shift
in favour of neoliberal economics
o Emphasis on production tends to foster social solidarity
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller natyprycova. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $8.18. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
