England's discontents: political cultures and national identities

Product Description



England’s political-economic scene is a battleground of competing ideologies, all under the umbrella of neoliberalism. From conservatism to socialism, what forces have historically shaped these political cultures and people’s attachment to them?
            Examining five political ideologies at play in England—conservatism, liberalism, economic liberalism, social democracy, and socialism—Mike Wayne unearths the historical rationale for their relationship to cultural identities, including rural England, gentlemanly capitalism, industrialism, and Empire. By revealing how national identity, class, and political economy intersect, Wayne is able to elucidate England’s enduring attachment to the neoliberal economic system.
            Grounding his cultural and material perspective in Gramscian and Marxist theory, Wayne illuminates the cultural dimensions of English political life in the last century.
 



Review



“This is a hugely ambitious and seriously rewarding genealogy of Britishness. Navigating the East India Company and Brexit, conservatism and liberalism, Gramsci and Stuart Hall, Mike Wayne has produced a fantastic analysis of the contradictions of our political culture.”
 
-- Des Freedman, Goldsmiths, University of London



“Wayne's excellent book delivers home truths and important historical lessons with authority, clarity and conviction. Its call for a radical version of social democracy is both convincing and energizing. Anyone seeking the signposts for social change should read this.”
 
-- Anita Biressi, University of Roehampton



“In the aftermath of Brexit, Mike Wayne’s provocative rereading of the tangled historical relations between Britain’s contesting political cultures forces us to think again about the exercise of power, the imagination of nationhood, and the possibilities for change.”
 
-- Graham Murdock, Loughborough University


About the Author



Mike Wayne is professor of film and television studies at Brunel University and the author, most recently, of
Understanding Film and
Marxism and Media Studies, both also published by Pluto Press.