Anthony Giddens Flashcards
dates
1938-
who was he
sociologist
work on political theory helped create ‘third way’
his works
Beyond left and right 1994
the third way:renewal of social democracy 1997
views on capitalism
capitalism+individualism had ‘corrosive’ effects on a community
but they were irreversible
what did he argued was required for the survival of social democracy
people need to know that free market capitalism had an unmatched power which could empower individuals economically
when did Giddens argue capitalism functioned best
when there was a strong sense of social cohesion
what was ‘post-fordist’ capitalism
industrial units of mass production
created tight knit communities based on same income+employment
what was the benefit of the post fordist communities
complemented humans desire for solidarity as members had a sense of support+identity
means they could challenge economic+cultural elites
what did giddens state about the post fordist society in the 21st century (decline in heavy industry)
fragmented these communities
individuals felt alienated
these 21st century post fordist communities were weakened what was the benefit and drawback of this
allowed people to ‘self-actualise’
less likely to be sure of themselves so influenced by economic+cultural elite
so individualisation of society=less individualism
for human nature to flourish in the 21st century, what did he think should be the role of the state
retreat from economic management
invest heavily in infrastructure+modernise education
what type of socialist is Giddens
revisionist socialist
revitalised case for further state action in era of globalised capitalism
what did he accept would happen so free markets could generate the wealth to fund public services
greater equality of opportunity might have to be accompanied by greater inequality of outcome
what did giddens influence
new labour gov of tony blair+gordon brown
