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The Political Socialization of Activists in the British Communist Party

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 January 2009

D. T. Denver  and
J. M. Bochel
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Extract

In the ten years or so since the publication of Hyman's seminal work, 1 students of politics have given increasing attention to political socialization. There has been a proliferation of works utilizing the concept. 2 The notion of socialization has perhaps been most rigorously applied in studies of the development of the political attitudes of children and adolescents, 3 but it has also been employed, if rather more loosely, in the study of adult electors. 4 There is, however, a dearth of material relating to the socialization of party activists at local level. This is not to say that the social and political background and the recruitment patterns of party activists have not been investigated, 5 but the concept of political socialization has not been explicitly or very rigorously employed. The importance of local party organizations and their memberships has not always been self-evident to students of politics and we do not propose to argue the point here. We merely assert that British parties and British politics derive much of their ‘style’ from the character of party activists. This being the case, we feel that the relative lack of information about the socialization of activists represents a considerable gap.

Type
Articles
Information
British Journal of Political Science , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , January 1973 , pp. 53 - 71
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1973

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References

1 Hyman, H., Political Socialization (Glencoe, III.: Free Press, 1959).Google Scholar

2 See for example the bibliography in Langton, K. P., Political Socialization (New York: Oxford University Press, 1969).Google Scholar

3 See for example Greenstein, F., Children and Politics (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1965)Google Scholar; Hess, R. D. and Torney, J., The Development of Political Attitudes in Children (Chicago: Aldine, 1967)Google Scholar; Dowse, R. and Hughes, J., ‘Girls, Boys and Polities’, British Journal of Sociology, XXII (1971).Google Scholar

4 Rose, R., Politics in England (London: Faber and Faber, 1965), pp. 58–87.Google Scholar

5 See for example Eldersveld, S. J., Political Parties: a Behavioral Analysis (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1964)Google Scholar; Bochel, J. M., Activists in the Conservative and Labour Parties (M.A. Thesis, University of Manchester, 1965).Google Scholar

6 Almond, G., The Appeals of Communism (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1965), p.ix.Google Scholar

7 Newton, K., The Sociology of British Communism (London: Allen Lane, The Penguin Press, 1969), P.3.Google Scholar

38 Study of Political Life in Dundee, Department of Political Science, University of Dundee. This project was sponsored and financed by the SSRC.

9 The Party has been active in Dundee since its formation in 1920. It contested five general elections between the wars and has put forward a candidate in one of the two Dundee constituencies in every election since 1950. In local elections, in the five years 1966–70, the mean number of wards contested has been 8·8 out of 12. If the figures given by branch secretaries are accepted, then total membership of the CP in Dundee was about 300 in 1969. It is difficult, however, to gauge the accuracy of this estimate.

10 Thus, Dawson and Prewitt write, ‘The family generally stands out as the most important agent determining the extent and direction of political learning’. Dawson, R. E. and Prewitt, K., Political Socialization (Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1969), p. 107.Google Scholar

11 See for example Butler, D. and Stokes, D., Political Change in Britain (London: Macmillan, 1969), pp. 65–94;Google ScholarAlford, R., Party and Society (London: Murray, 1964)Google Scholar, and Milbrath, L., Political Participation (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1965), pp. 114–28.Google Scholar

12 In 1932 as many as 35 per cent of all insured workers in Dundee were unemployed. Carstairs, A. M., ‘The Nature and Diversification of Employment in Dundee’, in Jones, S. J., ed., Dundee and District (Dundee: British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1968).Google Scholar

13 See, for instance, the remarks of respondents quoted in Goldthorpe, J. H. et al. , The Affluent Worker: Political Attitudes and Behaviour (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968), pp. 18–19.Google Scholar The influence of pre-war unemployment on post-war voting behaviour is considered in Nicholas, H. G., The British General Election of 1950 (London: Macmillan, 1951), pp. 297–8.Google Scholar

14 This evidence is considered in Newton, , The Sociology of British Communism, pp. 31–41Google Scholar. See also Lipset, S. M., Political Man (London: Mercury Books, 1964), pp. 187, 198.Google Scholar

15 Butler, and Stokes, , Political Change in Britain, pp. 44–55.Google Scholar

16 That is, the ratio of the total Communist vote to the size of the electorate.

17 For a discussion of the definition of ‘religion’ in survey research and an examination of its influence upon voting behaviour, see Bochel, J. M. and Denver, D. T., ‘Religion and Voting: a critical review and a new analysis’, Political Studies, XVIII (1970), 205–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

18 It was anticipated that Communists would not belong to a religious denomination and so questions were asked about their religious backgrounds. In the case of other respondents, attention was concentrated upon their present religious practice.

19 Questions relating to party activity and those probing more deeply the sources of party affiliation were asked of activists only.

20 See Hess and Torney, Political Attitudes in Children.

21 We are here referring to Scottish schools in the inter- and immediately post-war period.

22 Junior Secondary schools are the Scottish equivalent of Secondary Moderns in England.

23 Langton, , Political Socialization, p. 5.Google Scholar

24 Carstairs, , ‘Employment in Dundee’, p. 326.Google Scholar

25 Newton, , The Sociology of British Communism, p. 35.Google Scholar

26 Abrams, M., ‘Social Trends and Electoral Behaviour’, in Rose, R., ed., Studies in British Politics (London: Macmillan, 1967), p. 134.Google Scholar

27 Milbrath, L. W., Political Participation, pp. 20–1.Google Scholar

28 In 1969 Party membership nationally stood at 30,607 (The Observer, 16 November 1969). In the 1970 general election, the Communist Party contested fifty-seven seats and their mean share of the vote was 1·7 per cent.

29 See Trenaman, J. and Mcquail, D., Television and the Political Image (London: Methuen, 1961)Google Scholar, and Blumler, J. and Mcquail, D., Television in Politics (London: Faber and Faber, 1968).Google Scholar

30 Study of Political Life in Dundee, Survey of Electors, May-June 1968.

31 See Trenaman and McQuail, Television and the Political Image; Blumler and McQuail, Television in Politics; and Klapper, J., The Effects of Mass Communication (New York: Free Press, 1960), pp. 15–52.Google Scholar

32 Almond, , The Appeals of Communism, p. ix.Google Scholar

33 Compare in this respect the rapid decline in the electoral activity of the SNP, following the slump in support for the SNP. In Dundee in 1968, the SNP contested all twelve wards and obtained 30 per cent of the vote. But in 1971, they put forward only five candidates. By contrast, despite a low poll the CP has consistently contested a majority of the seats in the city.