Rhetoric and the Everyday — Fairness as Rhetorical Force and the Micro-Politics of Intentionality in a North Manchester Town

Abstract

This chapter juxtaposes recent governmental political rhetoric intended to convince the electorate that their priorities include local-level concerns about fairness in contemporary Britain, with rhetoric in society and the everyday explanations and sensibilities of ‘fairness’, as in what is perceived to be fair on local and individual levels. As an anthropological contribution to this multidisciplinary discussion of British political rhetoric, this chapter addresses rhetoric as a kind of discourse used by individuals in relationships with others, with an audience, that functions in flexible ways depending on the context of its usage. It deals specifically with the indeterminacy of rhetorical action and the everyday micro-politics of intentionality which the language of fairness mediates. It takes rhetoric out of the sphere of formal politics into culture, showing that rhetoric is defined by the innovative use of language in everyday life as much as in the speeches of political leaders.KeywordsMoral ImaginationLocal ConceptPolitical RhetoricSocial ClubWide Social ContextThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.