Who Holds Power in the United Kingdom Today Essay -- Papers

Who Holds Power in the United Kingdom Today To approach this question it is essential to consider both the definitions of power and the various different domains within which they work. As power is central to the understanding of politics, it evokes fierce controversy over its meaning. Academics have argued that politics strives to resolve conflict by producing consensus over the issues in question. In contrast, the practice of politics may also be seen solely as a means of execising power, be it through particular coercive forces or a legitimate authoratitive body. Political activity is omnipresent, existing on both micro level (as seen in the relationship between teacher and student) and on a macro level, meaning the state. Consequently, this brings us to make a necessary distinction between 'power' and 'influence'. The former can be seen as an ability to make significant political decisions which facilitates the control over others. e.g.the power of government over society. In contrast, the latter implies the potential to transform any component part of these decisions via some form of external pressure. For instance, this may include anything from rational debating within Parliament, to open intimidation such as armed police forces. Liberal democratic politics dictate the political agenda of the British political system. The 'liberal' element advocates the support for a multitude of different networks within the state as well as a number of different groups working seprate from the state. For example, N.G.Os, a Bill of Rights, an autonomous judiciary and finally, a complex system of 'checks and balances' within the in... ...mocratic, by implication we must live under the rule of a state elite. And if it is the case that such an elite must strive in every way possible to promote big business in order to uphold social cohesion, then surely it is impossible to deny that capitalist interests are the basis of all governmental decisions. It would only be logical to conclude that the concept of who holds power in the U.K today is merely a guise with government being a necessary shadow passed over society by the interests of big business. The reason this stlye of government has endured for so long is perhaps mans neccessity to believe that he has some control over his own destiny or as Thomas Paine so eloquently put it in the "Rights of Man" (1789), "Society is in every state a blessing, but, government in its best state is but a necessary evil".