The ‘civilising’ effect of a ‘balanced’ night-time economy for ‘better people’: class and the cosmopolitan limit in the consumption and regulation of alcohol in Bournemouth

Abstract

The British night-time economy today has been characterised by academics across various disciplines as the result of neoliberal attempts to regenerate the evening economy ‘on the cheap’, leading to the dominance of ‘mainstream nightlife’ at the expense of subcultural traditional working-class alternatives. One preferable alternative offered is the ideal of a ‘diverse’ and ‘inclusive’ ‘creative city’, with a greater focus on ‘culture’. This article shows how such ideas have been taken up in the planning and regulation of the night-time economy in Bournemouth. Despite the current emphasis on the value of making the Bournemouth night-time economy ‘more diverse’, offering more ‘balance’ than the current vista, policy-makers, like drinkers, are aware of the considerable distinctions within the night-time economy. The emphasis on diversity as a policy objective can be understood rather as an attempt to encourage a particular drinking style. In this context, a ‘balanced’ night-time economy refers more to the overall atmosphere than the variety of consumer choice. The ideal drinking style is seen as characteristic of a wealthier group of customers, who will exert a ‘civilising’ influence on the town, as wealth is associated with broader cultural attributes of these ‘better people’. It is therefore argued that local alcohol policy can be seen as neoliberal in the sense of actively creating a particular form of market, rather than letting a free market develop and determine outcomes. The intersection of cultural, economic and social factors suggests that the local approach can be understood as both reflective and constitutive of class.