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Britain Against Itself (Paperback, New Ed)
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Britain Against Itself (Paperback, New Ed)
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List price R627
Loot Price R545
Discovery Miles 5 450
You Save R82 (13%)
Expected to ship within 10 - 15 working days
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One of the foremost assessors of contemporary Britain -
civilization-incarnate or on-the-skids? - is Harvard political
scientist Beer; his 1965 British Politics in the Collectivist Age
(now being reissued as Modern British Politics) has been the
standard university text on postwar Britain. This volume, chiefly a
description of the last decade's developments, is intended to both
salvage and extend his original interpretation of British politics.
Between the 1945 election of the Attlee Labour government and the
late 1950s, Beer believes, Britain developed a form of consensual
politics that he has dubbed "collectivist" - by association with
the welfare state. Within an overall consensus, voters were able to
exercise a choice between parties - each representing an
aggregation of interests - that differed only marginally in
outlook. Faced with the current political turmoil, Beer must either
explain what happened to that consensus or scuttle his original
interpretation. So, resiliently (and not unproductively), he views
today's strife as an outgrowth of the collectivist period. With the
two parties converging in their view of the common good, the
interest-groups - fostered by collectivism - disaffiliate, and
respond to whichever party promises the most. The result is an
overload of promises, and an inability to govern, which Beer calls
"pluralist stagnation." In the 1970s, both parties attempted to
break out of this impasse - with the Heath government's austerity
program (subsequently abandoned in the face of unemployment), and
the Wilson government's more radical trade unionist program (also
subsequently abandoned). Currently, Beer sees Thatcher pursuing a
continuation of Heath's program; the left-wing of Labour on the
rise (led by Tony Benn); and the establishment of a new party, the
Social Democrats, that (in alliance with the Liberals) harkens back
to pre-collectivist individualism in its political program. To get
out of this fragmented state, a new consensus must be established;
but Beer cannot point to any definite signs of such a development.
Despite the timid prognostications and the overload of headings
like "social convergence and party dealignment," the book stands as
an interested layperson's guide to recent British political
history. (Kirkus Reviews)
General
Imprint: |
W W Norton & Co Inc
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
May 1982 |
First published: |
May 1982 |
Authors: |
Samuel H. Beer
|
Dimensions: |
211 x 140 x 18mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
232 |
Edition: |
New Ed |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-393-95288-9 |
Categories: |
Books >
Social sciences >
Politics & government >
General
|
LSN: |
0-393-95288-6 |
Barcode: |
9780393952889 |
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