英语国家文化与社会文化入门unit4 Politics, Class and Race

What Happens in an Election?
ELECTION
electors
candidates
1. local voting station 2. private booth
electoral campaigns
• Electoral campaigns： • advertisements in newspapers • door-to-door campaigning • postal delivery of leaflets • party electoral broadcasts on TV. Δ expenditure Δ good policies, opponents quite aggressive and critical.
②Tony Blair 1997-2007
wenku.baidu.com
Labor
British politics
• Away from the „public‟ and toward the „private‟ • Away from the „social‟ and toward the „individual‟
• 2000s • Gordon Brown 2007-2010 Labor
The importance of general elections
1. important in the western model of democracy.
2. They provide opportunity for people to influence future government policies and to replace those incompetent political leaders.
The Liberal Democratic Party
① a party of the „middle‟, occupying the ideological ground between the two main parties.
Recent Political Trends
• 1970s (a decade of problems)
Eward Heath 1970-1974 Conservative Harold Wilson 1974-1976 Labor James Callaghan 1976-1979 Labor
• 1980s
• Margaret Thatcher 1979-1990 Conservative
Margaret Thatcher‟s Policy: she insists the idea of small government and free-market economics, and less concerned with being „fatherly‟: this she dismissed as the „nanny state‟, encouraging laziness and discouraging entrepreneurship.
③The immigrants populations is not well-off economically. They face problems of unemployment, under-representation in politics and unfair treatment by police and justice system.
UN Climate Change conference in Copenhagen 2009
Class system in British society ①the class system does exist in British society. ②Most of British population would claim themselves to be either of middle-class or working class, though some people would actually belong to the upper middle-class or lower middle-class.
• 1990s ① John Major 1990-1997 Conservative
Because of national trend, there are changes of Labour: [away from big government socialism—free market individualism] a. less “socialist” b. give up “public ownership of the means of production” c. careful about tax increases
Why are They Important
• 1215 King John---the rights of citizens • 1236 first used the word: Parliament • 1407 King Henry IV---money grants (considered and approved by the Commons) • 1689 Parliment passed the Bill of Rights (the King can never ignore Parliament) • 1832 Commons by popular election p.39
newspapers & TV programmes
• opinion polls • counting
The Political Parties
• The Labor Party
①Labor is a socialist party. (“redistributive agent”) ②In 1945, the Labor government that came to power had a major effect on British society: a. National Health Service b. welfare payments c. “nationalised” a wide range of industries
Class
③Class-divisions are not simply economic, they are cultural as well. People of different classes may differ in the kind of newspapers they read, in the way they speak and in the kind of education they receive.
2. A government has been in power for 5 years. And there will be a general election every five years. A.longer than 5 years a) exceptions during WWI and WWII B. sooner than 5 years a)vote of no confidence b)the Prime Minister---popular
When Do Elections Occur
The formation of the government
1. 650 members of parliament are elected in General Elections represent 650 constituencies in the UK. The party which holds a majority of those “seats” in parliament forms the government, with its party leaders as the Prime Minister.
Unit 4 Politics, Class and Race
General Elections
• • • • Why are They Important? When Do Elections Occur? Who Can Stand for Election as an MP? What Happens in an Election? (How)
• 2010s • David Cameron
Conservative
UK Policy on Environmental Protection
• • • • In 1997 Kyoto Protocol 京都议定书 In November 2000 Climate Change Programme On November 2008 Climate Change Act In December 2009 the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen • UK Low Carbon Transition Plan • On Feb. 2010 PM Brown High Level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing • On Mar. 2010 Household Energy Management Strategy
②Ethnic relations are also sometimes tense: the local people view the newcomers as a threat to their way of living; and despite much official actions to minimize racism, both subtle and overt oppression remains.
Who Can Stand for Election as an MP
• Anyone who is eligible to vote can stand as an MP, and he only needs to make a deposit of 500 pounds. • No-hopers: Monster Raving Loony Party by David Sutch (1940-1999) in 1983 • Small parties like the Party of Wales • Big parties: Labor, the Conservative Democratic Liberal
The Conservative Party
① the party of the individual. ② a “fatherly” sense of obligation to the less fortunate in society. ③ The difference is one of degree, not an absolute.
④One of the distinctive features about the British class system is that aristocratic titles can still be inherited.
Race
Ethnic relations in the UK ①The coming of immigrants groups from other parties of the world has greatly enriched British culture.