Page 95 - DPOL202_COMPARATIVE_POLITICS_AND_GOVERNMENT_ENGLISH

Comparative Politics and Government

Notes The process of political socialisation automatically involves the case of re-socialisation that takes
place when individuals are inducted into new status for which no role models previously existed
in the society. Most pre-industrial political systems undergoing rapid social change are faced with
burdensome tasks of re-socialisation. The literature on totalitarian political systems (as Fascist
Italy, Nazi Germany and Communist Russia) has also devoted considerable attention to this subject.
Another form of resocialisation takes place when a group inducts an individual into a status for
which he was not prepared by his earlier training. Social mobility would be a case in point. Only
when the socialisation role of these secondary or intermediary institutions is understood, will we
be able to explain with more confidence why the well-trained generation leads to revolution
against the established order, or why, for example, “the radical Japanese adolescent becomes a
conservative adult.”
It shows that the process of political socialisation covers the whole life of a man. Its foundations
are laid in the early stages of a man’s life, its superstructures may undergo change in the later
stage on account of certain new experiences. What is strikingly noticeable at this stage is that the
political socialisation of the young witnesses, what Almond and Verba call ‘multi-directional flow
of influences.’ The result is that what the individuals learn at their grown up stage, they strive to
have it inculcated at the early stage of the life of their off springs. While referring to the case of the
United States, Almond and Verba point out that the people owing to the practice of political
democracy in the country “subsequently demand the practice of democracy in school, shop and
church. Since the demand is often met, school-children, workers and others acquire an articulation,
debate and decision-making. These experiences, in turn, help them towards developing the skills
with which to participate in political life and either to help bring about or to accept political
change. Thus, the socialisation process contributes not only to a society’s political stability but also
to change and to the strain at ease with which changes take place.”
The process of political socialisation has two forms: (i) homogeneous or continuous signifying that
the individuals cooperate with each other in an atmosphere of mutual trust towards their political
system, and (ii) heterogeneous or discontinuous signifying that the individuals have an attitude of
mutual suspicion and hatred towards each other that eventually leads them to have disaffection
with their political system. Thus, while in the event of a homogeneous or continuous process of
political socialisation, a political system can hope to receive a more or less dependable support
from the individuals, but the entire political life “is likely to become restless, and turbulent leading
to the frustration and demands for radical social change.” Obviously, “it is in the interest of the
stability of a political system that it draws its sustenance from a homogeneous environment.”
It should be pointed out at this stage that though political socialisation desires, as a matter of fact,
political stabilisation, it should not at all be construed as an anti-change concept. It may certainly
be described as a conservative’ concept in the sense that it stands for a change that is neither
radical nor rapid. It lays stress on this point that when change is the law of nature, it should be
gradual and peaceful. Political socialisation, thus, emphasises that if the attitudes, orientations
and values of the people change through time, a simultaneous change in the sphere of political
culture must take place in order to avoid the risks of sudden changes that may bring about the
decay or destruction of the political system. That is, the process of the shaping of political values
and the process of change should run in conformity with each other. It requires that the rulers
must remain very careful to prevent the occurrence of any major event like that of inflation or war
that may lead to the inculcation of radical changes in the attitudes of the people. The men in power
are thus duty-bound to see that the pressure of events does not reach a point that the loyalists are
converted into the rebels, or the collaborationists become the aggressors, or the friends are
transformed into the foes in view of the historical fact that if the process of socialisation “is slow,
the waters of political culture will run smoothly, and a political system smoothly adjusted with
the political culture of the country will be able to function effectively. Too rapid a process of
political socialisation, on the other hand, is likely to throw everything out of gear.”
The nature of the process of political socialisation at work varies over time and according to the
environment of which it is a part and to which it contributes. It is, therefore, related to the nature
of the political system and the degree and nature of change. “The more stable the polity, the more

90 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY