Class Cleavages

Class Cleavages

Social cleavage is the process of dividing voters into voting units or blocks for the purpose of voting analysis. Parties divide the citizens into adversaries and advocates on particular issues. In simple language, it is a thin vertical line that separates supporters and opponents of a political divide. Social cleavage has been in existence in many countries. However, with modernisation, it would be our expectation that it no longer matters. When we ask ourselves whether it does matter anymore, it raises some relic questions, surprised by time and modern society evolution. In this paper, we are going to look at the role of class cleavages in the past and how they mattered to political society. Besides, the paper will examine whether the social class does matter now or rather what matters now in the class privilege of modern times.

Social or Class Cleavages

The social division, was the dividing of supporters into different groups that either supported or opposed an agenda in the political divide. Class cleavages were a significant phenomenon in the 1960s in the European world in the way that they used to affect the outcome of almost all elections. The cleavages formed contained powerful support blocks for politics in Europe. The divisions were divided into different types, each having its characteristics and agendas. Some of the cleavages just emerged from the blues and with time took root to become very active. However, it was not unusual for the Europeans to divide people upon common lines for the sole benefit of the white man (Zielinski, 2002). For instance, during the era of the slave trade in the late 19th century, racism has been a major cleavage affecting the western world. In as much as they could be modernized, scholars insist that cleavages have been surpassed by time, new designations and forms are emerging and can be classified as cleavages.

Politics and Social Cleavages

Decades ago, the most efficient divisions were political either in the political circles, the electrolyte or even in religious circles. The European nations such as the UK, Germany and France were dominated by the workers-owner cleavages which demonstrated how people were diverse. With this inequality, it brought about the many privileges to the owners than the workers (Brooks, 1992-1999) For instance; the owners had the right to vote and participate in democratic forums. Regional periphery existed to map out the voting and support blocks aligned to the nation's regime.  Besides, there were religious cleavages which were dominant in 1900 among Christians which resulted to Catholics and Protestants. This division proved to be very powerful comparing to any other cleavages because of its diverse effect on religious matters. For instance, if the religious community refused to back a law or politician none would go through or even be elected.

Cleavages reflected larger ideological scissions in politics. Party politics are the core pillar of the political divide of any political arena. In this case, the social class mirrored the haves and the haves not in the political parties. The influential and wealthy in the states were favored by fiscal policies and rules that supported their wealth creation while oppressing the minor. On the other hand, the religious cleavage was more on moral debates other than politics. It discussed the moral role of women in the society, and what they could do, what they were not supposed to. Marriage and family were where the women were encircled.

When electoral systems were introduced in Europe, the voting system played a vital role in cementing the cleavages that already existed. This time, the divisions were based on political lines which would influence the outcome of the election. The system created challenges and even threatened to destabilize the status quo of the influential in Europe. Party patterns that were predictable in the competition for votes and seats solidified themselves and took the center stage in many democracies across the globe. It is from this point that cleavages started affecting the outcome of the votes and seats in the regions.

Types of Cleavages

The varying scope of the cleavage society in Western Europe has changed the outcome of elections or voting in many areas. Some of the cleavages that have taken root in the western world are gender, age, social class, religion, and race. These factors would influence the voting capability of the democracies. These classes created challenges in Western politics, as political competition to power increased in the Western Europe (Putnam, 2002). Also, different small and minor parties, for example, the gay communities, started emerging as strong opponents against other gender communities in Canada and Australia did too The main reason was that they had specialized and united themselves in powerful social cleavages. The small parties took a foothold in the parliamentary seats destabilizing the status quo, including the Canadian ethnic nationalist parties and Germany’s environmentalists’ cleavage. The immigrants were not left behind in the fight for political supreme as they formed their anti-immigrant political rights in Britain and wanted representation in parliament.

     In Europe, the electorate was manageable in the 19th century, and the parliamentarians could easily influence the votes of the people in their respective regions of the campaign. However, by the end of 19th century, the electorate became unmanageable because of the vast cleavages and increased population. As a result, the different political parties align themselves with the various divisions to gunner support in the parliamentary seats. During this period, more parties emerged, and cleavage lines were drawn between the trade unionists, social democratic parties, and labor. They formed new political links with the various cleavages present at the time.

Religious Cleavage

Religious cleavage was based on Catholics and Protestants. Both were equally powerful and had a strong voice. In the wake of political changes and disruptions of the status quo, in America, Christians Democrats developed strong links with the business sector and the Catholic Church. At this time, Catholics were more powerful because they had a supreme leader, the Pope. However, dividing the political landscape along religious lines also brought more differences between the already smeared relationships between Protestants and Catholics. However, it was a way of psychologically wooing votes from the religious fraternity contributing to the electro success of the involved party individuals.

In the U.S, due to the disturbance of the status quo, two parties emerged - the Democrats and the Republicans. The political divides aligned themselves along cleavage lines that were social, racial and class oriented. Politically the parties were powerful because there were the only parties that existed at that time (Edlund, 1999). Political upheavals emerged the moment, and the political landscape continued to expand during the American war and as people moved into the country to settle. During that time, the political parties were made of influential individuals who controlled the nature and orientation of the parties. Due to the segregation of some emerging groups, protests were formed.

The only way that the minor cleavages would be heard was by protesting which would take the attention of the parliamentarians. Even if they enacted policies to cater for that cleavage, they would ensure that their rights are favored first (Brooks, 1997). A Republican politician in the USA, once stated that the white color has more privilege than others, and it was the case in the political nature of the U.S. As politics became intertwined with cleavages, racism took effect. Even after slave trade had been abolished, the political divide was still very racist. There were no blacks in the parliamentary seats since they were considered inferior, showing how racism affected political outcomes. Whenever minor group started having a voice, political circles would be disturbed and restless, and the results were often the killing of the kingpins in these small minor cleavages. For instance, Martin Luther King emerged as a strong black leader which led to his assassination. However, as time went by, people realized the political circles could not survive without cleavages and associations and thus saw the opportunities for social and political alliances.

USA Today

Democratization in America is characterized by many political protests protesting against marginalization and other human rights. However, the cleavage of the social classes brought about democracy in the United States, especially after World War II. It does not mean that the social cleavages have been eliminated entirely ((Bolzendahl, 2005). In fact, in the political battle for statehouse that is ongoing, it is clear that the cleavage classes are still maintained. If we look at the top contenders for the top job, we see that they are all political heavyweights. For instance, Hilary Clinton from the Clinton family, Trump is a billionaire and Sanders a well rooted political figure. Also, the minor communities like the blacks in America and the immigrants have been neglected by the leading political figures (Bolzendahl, 2005). They are focusing more on the white votes because they still have the notion of power in the white color: Trump is focused more on the white votes than the minority votes in America.Though political analyst thought politics would be different today, not much has changed just that the social cleavages are not as eminent as before.

China

Long Before their independence, China was heavily dominated by social cleavages even after they got their independence. Dynasties and emperors ruled China and the clutch of people that were around the emperors were the only people who lived life. Only the ministers and their families had a right to own property. In China, the cleavage classes were the emperor's family, the political class, the elite, and the religious class. All these cleavages were intertwined and politically they all had to be in play for the political system to work. The leaders made sure that all the heads of the named cleavages associated and bowed to the emperor.

The time came when there were political unrests, and many were killed for going against the emperor in the 1800s when they demanded equal rights and a change in regime. Religious leaders were not spared either. And before colonization when the whites got into the huge country, the cleavages were still existent. In the mid-1800s, The British and Americans came and colonized China. They also formed their cleavages which brought about an unrest and destabilizing the already established status quo in China.

China Today

Cleavages in China today are based on gender, generational, ethnic and urban-rural. These divisions have brought about vast disparities in China political scope. There are protests every day, for instance, in 2015, they protested demanding for more political transparency, in China because of the marginalization of many cleavages that still exist today. The fact that the government is a capitalist escalates the hatred towards the government. It has become a country governed by the wealthy and well-connected politicians.The wealthy get it all and those in power control it all. However, the Chinese government cannot let the cleavages go unnoticed. Communication has also been restricted to the cleavage groups to reduce chances of riots.

China is still ethnically cleavage and affects the economy and well-being of the people. However, it has tried to eliminate it by having subsidies along ethnic borders and improving education in the rural and marginalized areas. As a result, the government has also realized that its political circles are made of the rich and powerful. There is a law that is being amended and waiting for approval in parliament to incorporate even the minority in parliament to increase the voice of the voiceless. China has even gone further to promote village elections and to improve infrastructure in marginalized areas in a bid to cope with cleavages. They have also reduced pension’s rates by half in rural areas as well as having policies that are more responsive to the local people.

What Matters Now?

In today's economy and political circles, class cleavages are not as influential as before. However, they are still being used in campaigns to influence electorate decision without the knowledge of cleavage existence. In as much as it can be assumed or eradicated, it is impossible to wipe completely out social and class divisions (Putnam, 2002).

Human rights is a cleavage that has developed for the last 50 years. USA and Europe have put human rights at a higher level than any other issue concerning people. Human rights fight for equality among all the people (Collins, 2001). It is a cleavage that intends to eradicate other cleavages that existed by giving equal rights to people in a democratic country. For instance, in America, the blacks were given a right to vote in the late 1900s. Besides the immigrants were also given identity cards to help them get jobs in America giving them equal rights to jobs.

            Human rights are the cleavage that matters today. As we have noticed, Political circles have changed their tone and way of campaigns to focus more on human rights. In the USA, human rights are more important than other policies; even though cleavages are still in play, they also affect the level of rights offered to certain ethnic groups (Clunas, 1991). For example, some people still do not recognize blacks as individuals with equal rights, and it can be seen in politics as well. However, the level at which human rights had been emphasized is good enough to say they are trying their best to eliminate cleavages. Similarly, in China, it is the same, human rights that are fighting for a platform that will treat all the billion people in China equally (Collins, 2001).

Human rights have a significant role to play in how cleavages are formed today. The advancement of knowledge and technology has even changed the landscape of cleavages. There are even cleavages that have been established over the Internet, for example, bloggers and internet hackers, and it widens the scope of cleavages that they are not only based on ethnic grounds but also on technological factors (Guo, 2011).

Conclusion

Cleavages are a social aspect of dividing people along a vertical line that either supports or is against a political agenda. Cleavages have played a significant role in how politics are shaped today and even in the past. Countries like China and USA have struggled to control the cleavage menace although it has helped them shape their political landscape. In today's world, the landscape has changed, and more emphasis is being put on human rights than any other cleavage. The political circles have also changes to catch the electorate by human rights. We can say that cleavage is still in play but not in the open as decades ago. More cleavages like technology and human rights are emerging and becoming more influential than expected.

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