Populism Against Progress: And the Collapse of Aspirational ValuesA sociological study of populism as a major influence in undermining standards in many spheres of life, through false values promoted either through or resulting from political activity, etc., or through corporate marketing forces. The book is of particular relevance to educationalists with regard to its criticism of relativism and post-modernism. |
Contents
Preface CHAPTER | 1 |
Populism as the cancer of democracy | 2 |
Deceptive tendency of representative government | 3 |
Democratic sovereignty is an amoral mechanism | 4 |
Selfdeception of proponents of democracy | 5 |
Democracy vital for technological progress | 6 |
Symptoms of populism | 8 |
CHAPTER | 10 |
How corporate advertising appeals to human | 103 |
Discrimination and taste is degraded by corporate power | 106 |
The corrupting power of corporate marketing | 107 |
Personalisation policies are an alternative to the privatisation of the right and the statism of the left | 109 |
Benefits of direct democracy and devolved power | 111 |
A universal proprietorial class would repudiate populism | 112 |
The alienated give rise to the populist society | 113 |
CHAPTER 9 | 115 |
The rise and fall of cultures | 11 |
Categories of world cultures | 12 |
The absorption and annihilation of cultures | 14 |
The benefits of civilisation as a moral problem | 16 |
When benevolent intervention incites political collapse | 17 |
When dominated peoples pull down the props of their own culture | 18 |
CHAPTER 3 | 21 |
A Conflict arising through moral values rather than economic factors | 22 |
Distinctive characteristics of Islamic civilisation | 24 |
Imperialistic success of Islamic fundamentalism | 25 |
Idolatry and materialism of the West | 26 |
The Faustian alchemy of the primitive West | 27 |
The stasis of Chinese civilisation in the 15th century | 30 |
National rivalry drove forward Western technology | 31 |
Fundamentalism is the destructive populism of Islamic civilisation | 32 |
Liberal attitudes towards Islam are not reciprocated | 33 |
CHAPTER 6 | 75 |
Need to differentiate between a Working Class | 82 |
Inescapable movement towards the oneparty state | 91 |
CHAPTER 8 | 97 |
Differentiation between AngloSaxon and Continental middle class attitudes and values | 116 |
High cultural egalitarianism on the Continent and in the Far East | 117 |
Cultural decline of BBC TV since the 1950s | 119 |
The failure of historical realism in BBC drama | 121 |
Degradation of contemporary television | 122 |
Idealising the sad the bad and the mad | 123 |
How marketeers insult the less privileged | 126 |
The selfdeception of marketing promoters | 128 |
notional and real | 130 |
CHAPTER 10 | 132 |
Contrast between young and mature cultures | 133 |
When maturity turns to decline | 135 |
Distinction between Creative Reflection and Pedantic Reflection | 138 |
The cultural problem in maintaining artistic standards | 139 |
The gap between the ideal and the actual in sociopolitical life | 140 |
The urgent need for integrative theory | 141 |
Value of Constructive philosophies past and future | 143 |
New Idealism is the key to social progress | 144 |
| 147 | |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
19th century 21st century achieved activity advertising amongst Arabian peninsula aspects aspirational values attitudes behaviour Britain civilisation class-based classless society conflict consciousness contemporary corporate course curriculum David Marquand democracy democratic economic educational system egalitarian society emergence entail environment European existence fact factors forces framework freedom future greater groups Hence high culture higher higher consciousness human ideals individual influence intelligent interests irrespective Islamic Islamic civilisation Islamic fundamentalism Islamophobia Jade Goody knowledge Labour Party latter marketing maximise merely middle-middle majority moral nation needs never nonetheless outcome past philosophy Piers Paul Read policies political populism practical present problem progress promote pupils purpose reality regard relativism rentier capitalism Roman sector sense situation social Somerset Maugham spheres spontaneous process standards status teachers teaching of history technological undermining understanding upwardly aspiring egalitarian West Western whilst