Think back to when you were in secondary school, did you have classes on politics? Did your family have any discussions around politics? For many this isn’t the case. Here I am going to discussing that class and education are key in understanding the inequalities of voting. From a personal perspective, I didn’t have politics as a class in my secondary school and the only reason I briefly knew who the labour or conservative party were, was because of my dad. Growing up my dad would always watch the news which left me and my curious self to ask a million and one questions about what elections are or what the people in these coloured parities think. Political socialisation and information predominately begins in the home, and in turn is an example of cultural capitalism in the essence that it aims to provides a foundation for future learning (Bourdieu and Passeron, 1977). This enables the younger generation to form skills It allows young people to develop skills that are vital for when it comes to political participation when they reach voting age. The young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds will not gain the same level of education regarding politics as those in a better social group. This is one of the very many inequalities which lie within our society today.
“Democracy is unthinkable without the ability of citizens to participate freely in the governing process” (Verba, Schlozman, Brady, 1995, p.1). This statement holds great meaning in my opinion. When we had a look at the previous blog it was proven that young people do not really engage politically, now we have the discussion around the idea that not all young people are actually given a chance! It is all fair and square the state wanting us to vote however, do we know what and who we are voting for? The answer is quiet simply no. Not all educational systems teach young people the importance of knowing about politics not just having to be forced to vote.
If this is not taken seriously in the household or at school why then should young people be penalised for something that is at no fault of their own. The 2017 general election saw a move down the groups of social class, it was made obvious that the turnout had decreased significantly, from a 69% turnout in the AB category to 53% in the DE category
the world no longer works the way it once did hence why society has moved so harshly. it is very unfair to say that young people do not vote or that the UK are not bothered about politics when politics is not available or everyone to learn about hence making the turnout of our elections fluctuate all the time . If parents wants their children to lear more about politics it is their role as guardians to implement that to their child when they are growing up. if I hadn’t of been a nosey child to being with I would have never of really known about politics or has much interest, with my dad being so involved with it I was then able to learn things along the way and now being at university I am able to make my own judgements on what goes on around me politically…
Again would love for you guys to give me some feedback on what your thoughts and opinions on this particular matter think about
do you feel or see any inequalities when it comes to politics in the UK?
do you care about politics being implemented into schools ?
comment comment comment!!!
Bibliography
Bourdieu, P. and Passeron, J. (1977) Reproduction in education, society and culture. London: Sage.
Ipsos MORI, 2017 “How Britain voted in the 2017 election” [Online] Available: https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/how-britain-voted-2017-election [Last Accessed 6th March 2018]
Verba, S. Schlozman, K. Brady, H. 1995 “Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics”. 4th Ed, [Online] Harvard University Press: Cambridge, p.1, Available: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=YFiCO5f0BKAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Voice+and+equality+Verba,+Schlozman+and+brady&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Voice%20and%20equality%20Verba%2C%20Schlozman%20and%20brady&f=false [Last Accessed: 6th March 2018]