Author: Massey, Doreen

Source: Soundings, Number 48, Summer 2011 , pp. 29-39(11)

Publisher: Lawrence and Wishart

Abstract:

A 'conjunctural analysis' is about deep structural movements. It is not particularly about parliament and parties, though actions and events there may well be the spark that sets off tectonic shifts. A conjunctural approach leads us to examine the movements of the different instances in a social formation, and the potential social forces. The question that arises from this for the left is: is there going to be, and how can we contribute to the provocation of, a moment of rupture in which the different instances interlock in crisis and open up the ground for a shift in the balance of social power. In this respect, the problem for the left is that we face a continuing economic crisis in the UK, but there is no ideological crisis. There has therefore been no significant shift in the balance of social forces. There has been no fracturing of the hegemonic common sense. Without a serious engagement with the current ideological hegemony it will be impossible to break the stranglehold of the present economic discourse. However, there is room for effective ideological contestation. There is in this crisis a quite particular and complex intersection between the economic and the ideological that both is interesting in its own right and may offer openings for productive political engagement.

Keywords: STUART HALL; IDEOLOGY; FINANCIAL CRISIS; CONJUNCTURE

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3898/136266211797146891

Publication date: 2011-08-15

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