Although Ronald Inglehart's New Politics theory has attracted criticism, its influential
distinction between materialist and postmaterialist values tends to go unquestioned. The
influence of this distinction is particularly apparent when analysts interpret the "new"
social movement emphasis on esteem and belonging as a "postmaterialist" departure from
a traditional, or "materialist" focus on security. This way of understanding contemporary
feminist and ethnocultural-minority movements is misleading because it rests on a onedimensional
view of esteem and belonging. By treating esteem and belonging as
expressive, which is to say as purely aesthetic or psychological goods, New Politics
obscures the instrumental significance of esteem and belonging for movements that
represent traditionally, marginalized constituencies.
This work undertakes a qualitative study of the participation of national socialmovement
organizations, "old" and "new," in Canadian constitutional politics. The
analysis is based on these actors' presentations to parliamentary hearings and royal
commissions on major constitution-related issues between the years 1938 and 1992.
Above all, the study illustrates what New Politics theory neglects: the instrumental
role of social esteem and civic belonging as bases of voice and self-defence. I argue that
attending to this role can help analysts to understand better the postwar politics of
recognition. The work develops this argument in three major ways. First, I demonstrate
the instrumental importance of esteem and belonging for the mid-century traditional left.
Second, I show that problems of misrecognition and disesteem presented feminists and
ethnocultural minorities with severe difficulties in garnering a meaningful hearing for their
security needs. Third, I analyze the discursive ways in which postwar "new" movement
participants came to pursue forms of respect that had proved elusive in the past.
The work's overall conclusion is this: the material nature of the politics of
recognition is demonstrated by the extent to which increased esteem and belonging for
traditionally disrespected groups has been paralleled by an expanded menu of recognized
security concerns. The study's major message follows from this conclusion: because
struggles over esteem and belonging have crucial material stakes, they should not be
contrasted a priori with struggles that may appear to target questions of security more
directly.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/11349 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | James, Matt |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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