Democracy and adaptation to economic and technological change: Is the British political system capable of adjusting?

Abstract

Political systems provide the framework for organizational and technological change. Democratic systems are in some respects more open to economic and social adjustment than non-democratic systems; but the conflicting demands of entrenched interests and competition among parties for votes themselves create obstacles to adaptation. Britain's political system is the most stable in Western Europe, but it is also (after Italy) the one which is showing most signs of strain. How far is political stability a source of strength or of weakness under conditions of rapid economic and technological change? What aspects of Britain's current political difficulties are common to all democracies (as Sam Brittan argued in a classic study), or to all European social welfare economies, and what aspects are peculiar to our system alone? After five years of the most self-consciously radical government which Britain has had since 1945, how successful has our current government been in promoting economic and social change, while resisting any changes in our political system? It is argued that there has been a negative interaction between repeated efforts to transform Britain's industrial structure, and industrial relations, for example, and the obstacles to change posed by a restricted and centralised political system. Other illustrations of the interaction between political structure and policy output are taken from the evolution of Britain's relations with the European Community, from the management of industrial collaboration with other governments, and from attempts to reform the finances of local government. Britain's experience is compared and contrasted with those of the United States, France, Germany and Japan.