Political ideologies and the role of the state.

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter examines competing ideas about the right and proper role of the state in society, and in relation to leisure in particular, from the point of view of various political ideologies. Ideologies can be characterized by their attitudes towards a range of issues, including: social change; economic growth; social inequality; elitism; the market system; and the role of the state. Generally, only the conservative ideology is not in favour of changing the status quo. This is, however, to some extent a reflection of the particular current situation in the Western democracies. Where non-conservatives hold power for a long period of time, sufficient to bring about radical change, then what were previously conservative forces themselves become supporters of change and the previous radicals become conservative: hence the confusing terminology in the former Communist states of Eastern Europe. But similar confusion could come about in Western countries such as Britain, where the liberal right have held sway for some time: here the conservative 'wets' may in future be seen as the forces of change as they seek to return to a former, less market-dominated society. Environmentalism is notable for being the only ideology that has a clearly negative attitude towards conventional economic growth, with anti-globalism somewhat ambivalent on this issue. While some proponents and governments of other ideological persuasions may be more or less green in outlook, in general they seek to show that they have a superior approach to achieving and distributing the product of economic growth. Attitudes towards the market system vary significantly, with Marxists committed to its abolition and liberals being its main champion, while others wish to see it modified by the activities of the state and voluntary sector. The corollary to this is attitudes towards the role of the state, with liberals being most suspicious and Marxist and democratic socialists most accepting. The ideologies differ in their approach to social inequality. Liberals see inequality as the other side of the coin of incentive and freedom - the very mechanism that drives the successful market economy, whereas, at the other extreme, both forms of socialism see the inequalities of the capitalist system as its worst fault, and feminism focuses on the inequality between men and women. It cannot be said that leisure is the focus of any of the ideologies discussed above, but it can be shown that they each provides a distinctive perspective for viewing the role of leisure in contemporary society and the role of the state in relation to leisure provision and regulation.