The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics (42 page)
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class action suit
Lawsuit in which the case of an individual is taken as representative of the cases of a larger group, hence obviating the need for separate individual trials. Chiefly American.
class consciousness
Basically, awareness of social divisions in society and of belonging to a particular social rank. However,
Hegel
made a distinction between the existence of a
class
and the subjective awareness of class.
Marx
, on the other hand, argued that a class whose members were not aware of their common relationship to the means of production was not effectively a class. For example, of peasants under feudalism Marx asserted that ‘the identity of their interests begets no community, no national bond, and no political organization among them, they do not form a class’. To Marx, the clearest example of a class characterized by consciousness of class is the modern
proletariat
. Marx knew, however, that the working class did not always behave with the sense of solidarity which his analysis implies, and some of his successors became convinced that the working class was incapable, without assistance from outside its own ranks, of developing a consciousness of common interests, expressed in political organization.
Lenin
asserted this, while Rosa
Luxemburg
denied it. Hence Lenin argued for the necessity of a ‘vanguard party’, with important consequences for the development of socialism in Russia and beyond. The basis of Marx's expectation that the working class would develop the sense of ‘common destiny’ was his belief that the interests of the working class are identical, they are in constant communication because concentrated in factories and cities, they are subject to the erosion of the differentials among themselves, they are subject to increasing immiseration, and they form an increasingly large majority of the population. In the event, the working class now seem further away from class consciousness than they were when Marx wrote. Their interests are less and less obviously identical, they are increasingly differentiated in function and incomes as technology advances, the spread of prosperity has led more and more workers to cease to identify themselves with the deprived, and blue-collar employees in private industry are now a shrinking minority in all advanced countries. Much the same has occurred in communist systems—witness the expression of despair of
Mao Zedong
, faced with the chaos which had overwhelmed his Great Proletarian
Cultural Revolution
: ‘Who would have believed that the working class could be so divided?’
JG
Hegel
made a distinction between the existence of a
class
and the subjective awareness of class.
Marx
, on the other hand, argued that a class whose members were not aware of their common relationship to the means of production was not effectively a class. For example, of peasants under feudalism Marx asserted that ‘the identity of their interests begets no community, no national bond, and no political organization among them, they do not form a class’. To Marx, the clearest example of a class characterized by consciousness of class is the modern
proletariat
. Marx knew, however, that the working class did not always behave with the sense of solidarity which his analysis implies, and some of his successors became convinced that the working class was incapable, without assistance from outside its own ranks, of developing a consciousness of common interests, expressed in political organization.
Lenin
asserted this, while Rosa
Luxemburg
denied it. Hence Lenin argued for the necessity of a ‘vanguard party’, with important consequences for the development of socialism in Russia and beyond. The basis of Marx's expectation that the working class would develop the sense of ‘common destiny’ was his belief that the interests of the working class are identical, they are in constant communication because concentrated in factories and cities, they are subject to the erosion of the differentials among themselves, they are subject to increasing immiseration, and they form an increasingly large majority of the population. In the event, the working class now seem further away from class consciousness than they were when Marx wrote. Their interests are less and less obviously identical, they are increasingly differentiated in function and incomes as technology advances, the spread of prosperity has led more and more workers to cease to identify themselves with the deprived, and blue-collar employees in private industry are now a shrinking minority in all advanced countries. Much the same has occurred in communist systems—witness the expression of despair of
Mao Zedong
, faced with the chaos which had overwhelmed his Great Proletarian
Cultural Revolution
: ‘Who would have believed that the working class could be so divided?’
JG
classical economics
The economics derived from a number of leading theorists of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, especially Adam
Smith
, David Ricardo , and Thomas
Malthus
. Though the classical economists disagreed about many things, they all agreed that governments were less likely to produce wealth than were markets. They therefore favoured free trade and
laissez-faire
. Classical economics began to be revived in the late nineteenth century, when its claims were mathematically formalized and made more precise. See also
neoclassical economics
.
Smith
, David Ricardo , and Thomas
Malthus
. Though the classical economists disagreed about many things, they all agreed that governments were less likely to produce wealth than were markets. They therefore favoured free trade and
laissez-faire
. Classical economics began to be revived in the late nineteenth century, when its claims were mathematically formalized and made more precise. See also
neoclassical economics
.
cleavage
Term borrowed from its geological meaning to denote the splitting of a political system along ethnic or ideological lines. The term is used rather loosely, sometimes to indicate the division between dimensions (as in ‘cleavage structure’), sometimes just as a synonym for disagreement within a dimension.
clerisy
An idea or proposal for a publicly endowed national class or order, in whom the culture and learning of a nation is embodied, a class or order composed not merely of theologians and divines but of non-sectarian thinkers capable of advancing learning in all branches of knowledge. This idea or proposal was first advanced in
Coleridge's
On the Constitution of the Church and State
(1830), a work which also contained the suggestion that a few members of the clerisy should reside at university with the rest being distributed throughout the country. Also, incidentally, an idea quite strongly favoured in the Broad Church movement and one taken up enthusiastically by liberals such as John Stuart
Mill
who were permanently preoccupied with enhancing the role of intellectuals in politics.
JH
Coleridge's
On the Constitution of the Church and State
(1830), a work which also contained the suggestion that a few members of the clerisy should reside at university with the rest being distributed throughout the country. Also, incidentally, an idea quite strongly favoured in the Broad Church movement and one taken up enthusiastically by liberals such as John Stuart
Mill
who were permanently preoccupied with enhancing the role of intellectuals in politics.
JH
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