December 28, 2009
Class war, Jim, but not as we knew it
Sunny Hundal has been leading the charge at Liberal Conspiracy, calling for Labour to fight the next election on the basis of ‘class war’. I think this strategy could work. But only if it’s done right. And paradoxically, the first thing is to stop calling it ‘class war’.
That term has all the wrong connotations. It brings to mind struggle, strife, conflict and hardship. You know, like in war. It’s also reminiscent of the language of proles vs. capitalists, unions vs. bosses, revolutionaries vs. bourgeoise apologists. And it’s a bad idea to run an election campaign on those lines.
Not because Labour should hide it’s working class socialistic roots, or because of rightist nonsense that such rhetoric punishes aspiration and alienates ordinary people. But because such overtones mean very little to ordinary working people, most of whom have never been down a mine or ballotted in a union, because they work in call centres and Tesco.
Class war overtones may mean more to (some) older generations, who may themselves still be unionised (teachers, public sector workers). But the antagonistic overtones of class war are, in 2010, most likely to inspire ill-defined but powerful fears deriving from our collective political memory’s bette noir: the economic strife of the 1970s.
‘Class war’ is the idiomnof last century’s battles. Those on the hardened left may not like this. But it’s a fact. And if you fight the last battle, you always lose.
Which is not to give carte blanche to rightist in the Labour party like Tessa Jowell and Jack Straw, for they want to fight a 20th Century battle too.
The New Labour old guard (for 16 years on, that’s what they are) still think in the politics of the boom times. That elections must be fought by ‘out-aspiriationalising’ the Tories, presenting Labour as intensley relaxed about people getting filthy rich. The old guard doesn’t seem to have noticed the collapse of Lehman’s, rising unemployment and recession. When the economics change, so must the politics.
In 2010, pointing out the enormous privilege of the individuals composing the Cameron clique and Tory upper echelons, it’s multimillionaire string-pulling main funder, or it’s desire to drastically cut public spending and state support for ordinary families whilst offering tax breaks to millionaires, should all work. Why? Because these things bother people, and bother them so very much more in the bad times than the good.
But let’s not forget what the Fabian Society found in 2009: that most voters like to think of themselves as in the ‘i’m-doing-ok’ middle (wherever they really are in class and income terms). They don’t picture themselves as poor, disadvantaged or hard-up relative to others (even when they are), let alone as underdogs in a class war. We ignore that at our peril.
Navigating the above, it’s clear we must abandon the rhetoric of class war. Instead we should be talking about ‘the unfairly privileged vs the hardworking ordinary’, ‘the many vs the few’. Of course, you and I know it’s still class war, Jim. But not as we knew it.
Ste For Sure said,
December 28, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Very nice article…
another term that this issue crops up with is ‘working class’ itself.
A lot of people associate the term working class with a sort of ‘sociological’ (for want of a better word) category, all blue overalls, flat caps and whippets; and they don’t identify with it.
The newsletters, and bulletins of a fair few libertarian socialists have effectively dropped the term in favour of ‘workers’ or ‘ordinary working people’.
Peter said,
December 28, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Great post, nothing to be disagreed with!
Liberal Conspiracy » Labour’s need for a Class War strategy explained said,
December 29, 2009 at 1:55 pm
[...] do we really want a re-run of the 70s? Paul Sagar is right on the money when he says it’s Class war, Jim, but not as we knew it. Unlike many socialists or right-wing Labour MPs, I’m not harking back to some golden era [...]
Liberal Conspiracy » More thoughts on a ‘class war’ said,
December 30, 2009 at 8:31 am
[...] picked up the tenor of my argument about how 21st century appeals to privilege and minority interests is neither a disastrous retreat [...]
Down to work « Bad Conscience said,
January 1, 2010 at 6:33 pm
[...] This is a very good idea. And it can be made to fit perfectly with an electoral campaign focusing on messages about the many not the few, the ordinary hardworking versus the undeserving privileged. A campaign pointing out that the Tories say that we’re all in this together, but what they plan to do is give tax breaks to their millionaire friends. (A strategy of class war, but not as we knew it). [...]
The Soapbox Recommends… « The Daily Soapbox said,
January 4, 2010 at 8:06 pm
[...] on the ‘Class War’ debate from ‘Guy the Mac’, Paul Sagar and Neil [...]
The Environment Is Not The Economy « Bad Conscience said,
January 18, 2010 at 2:06 am
[...] My personal favourite was the “Make the election about George Osborne: have his face in every voters’ mind” pitch. I also tried to help out Sunny Hundal when he ran out of time, and made a passionate plea for Class War (but now as we know it). [...]