Sacred Cows and Common Sense

The Symbolic Statecraft and Political Culture of the British Labour Party

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science
Cover of the book Sacred Cows and Common Sense by Tim Bale, Taylor and Francis
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Author: Tim Bale ISBN: 9780429788420
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: May 23, 2019
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Tim Bale
ISBN: 9780429788420
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: May 23, 2019
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

First published in 1999, this volume is based on interviews and research from previously unavailable party, state and private archives, this insightful volume reflects on the interaction between institutional structure and world-view that we call political culture. Using Labour’s post-war welfare policy, this informative study makes three key points:

  • The need to break down distinctions between the ‘symbolic’ and the ‘substantial’ in politics.
  • The potential of ‘Grid-Group’ or ‘Cultural’ Theory as a way of understanding party political culture.
  • The crucial but self-defeating role that welfare policy has played in Labour’s efforts to manage itself, win support and govern competently.

The well-documented research leads to the conclusion that New Labour’s much-heralded desire to ‘think the unthinkable’ about welfare is largely rhetorical if one recalls what Labour did in office rather than promised in opposition. The Government’s welfare reforms, rather than constituting a serious attempt to confront new social realities, are in fact par for the course.

Political scientists cannot ignore the new government’s past. Political historians need to appreciate the patterns woven in a welter of detail and social democratic defensiveness. By fusing a realist conception of statecraft, an ‘interpretavist’ interest in symbols and a predictive comparative model of the interaction between ideology and organisation, this authoritative work will enable readers to do just that.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

First published in 1999, this volume is based on interviews and research from previously unavailable party, state and private archives, this insightful volume reflects on the interaction between institutional structure and world-view that we call political culture. Using Labour’s post-war welfare policy, this informative study makes three key points:

The well-documented research leads to the conclusion that New Labour’s much-heralded desire to ‘think the unthinkable’ about welfare is largely rhetorical if one recalls what Labour did in office rather than promised in opposition. The Government’s welfare reforms, rather than constituting a serious attempt to confront new social realities, are in fact par for the course.

Political scientists cannot ignore the new government’s past. Political historians need to appreciate the patterns woven in a welter of detail and social democratic defensiveness. By fusing a realist conception of statecraft, an ‘interpretavist’ interest in symbols and a predictive comparative model of the interaction between ideology and organisation, this authoritative work will enable readers to do just that.

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