Thatcherism, Class Consciousttess and the Unemployed

Abstract

In this chapter I examine the issue of whether or not the unemployed systematically hold a set of views that have been described as ‘Thatcherite’ (Hall, 1982), and then I shall go on to consider issues of class consciousness. The particular claim about Thatcherism is one conclusion of the research by Golding and Middleton (1982). I criticised their work in theoretical terms earlier. However, given the wider significance of the Thatcherite thesis for explaining contemporary working-class quiescence, and the detailed criticism it has received (Jessop et al., 1984), I believe it also merits empirical assessment. A further reason for considering Golding and Middleton's analysis empirically is that their results have been used entirely uncritically by some authors (for example Alcock, 1987, pp. 118–19). However, others have produced evidence contradicting Golding and Middleton's claims (TaylorGooby, 1985, pp. 21–52). Further, the specific features of Thatcherite discourse that I shall be examining below also enable me to develop empirically my arguments relating to the structuring and content of ideological discourses. I have argued that the content of ideologies may have dissimulating (concealing), reifying, legitimising, fragmenting or fatalistic effects with respect to relations of domination. I shall also be further pursuing my general claim about the importance of political organisations in producing and disseminating critical, oppositional beliefs.