CHAPTER 7

POLITICS, SOCIETY
AND IDENTITY

POL101
 Industrialism to post-industrialism

• The social connectedness of close bonds

and fixed allegiances is giving way to more
fluid, individualized arrangements.

• This reflects:
- The transition from an industrial to a post-
industrial society
- The declining importance of class
- New technology and the ‘information society’
- The rise of individualism 2
 Rise of identity politics

• Identity politics is a style of politics that seeks

to counter group marginalization by
embracing a positive and assertive sense of
collective identity
• Identity can be shaped around many
principles – ethnicity, gender, religion,
culture…
• Attempts to regenerate personal and social
identity have given rise to new, and
sometimes more radical, forms of politics 3
 Rise of individualism
• Network relationships have encouraged the
‘thinning’ of social connectedness.
• Economic individualism fostered by the rise of
industrial capitalism. Consumerism encourages
people to define themselves by what the earn and
what the own.
• Some argue individualism has weakened our
sense of social belonging.
• Liberal theorists see individualism as a sign of
progress – associated with the spread of
‘enlightened’ social values such as toleration and
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equality of opportunity.
 Cultural diversity

• The growth of international migration has given

an increasing number of societies a multicultural
character.
• Multiculturalism recognises the fact of cultural
diversity, and holds that such differences should
be respected and affirmed.
• There are three main models of multiculturalism:
- Liberal
- Pluralist
- Cosmopolitan
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