II. Patriarchalism, Politics and Mass Attitudes in Stuart England

Bibliographic Data

ID8959020
AuthorsGordon J Schochet (Rutgers Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, corresponding author)
Year1969
Volume12
Issue3
Pages413-441
Publication date1969-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Historical Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0018-246X • E-ISSN: 1469-5103
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0018246x00007226
OpenAlexW1978197509
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited41

It is increasingly becoming a commonplace to assert that non-political activities engaged in during childhood play determinative roles in shaping individuals' attitudes toward and perceptions of the political order. A large part of this early ‘political socialization’, as it is now called, takes place within the family, which, in the words of one commentator, ‘incubates the political man’, whether or not there is a conscious attempt to inculcate political beliefs. As T. D. Weldon remarked, ‘Basic political creeds may not be actually imbibed ... with mother's milk: but children are none the less indoctrinated in practically every other way.’ This socialization plus later experiences (including reading, conversations, and direct encounters with government) will help to implant notions of political legitimacy; that is, the grounds on which a political authority is held to be entitled to rule. Legitimacy and the consequent public acceptance of government are among the very foundations upon which politics rests. In the words of David Easton, If a government...is to be capable of performing its tasks, the member of the [particular political] system must be prepared to support the particular norms and structures that organize the way in which all political activities are performed. That is, they must be willing to support the 'constitutional order' or regime. Hence, we are identifying the fundamental rules of the game, as they are often described, regulating participation in political life and the particular way of organizing political power in a given society

American political science · Democracy · Government (linguistics · Legitimacy · Order (exchange · Political communication · Political culture · Political economy · Political science · Political socialization · Political system · Politics · Power (physics · Sociology · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Gender Politics and Representation · Historical Economic and Social Studies · Law

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