Polity's place in a polite society - The Centre for Independent Studies
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Polity’s place in a polite society

In Britain , the politics of behaviour is replacing the politics of class. Tony Blair’s Labour Government has shown little interest in traditional socialist issues such as income redistribution, but it has enacted a stream of legislation aimed at curbing the growth of the yobbishness and antisocial behaviour that is blighting the lives of many working-class people.

There is no sign yet of Australia developing its own “Respect Agenda”, but the country is not immune from the problems Britain is experiencing. Only last October Sydney magistrate Pat O’Shane dismissed a case brought against a youth who had sworn obscenities at the police by claiming: “I am not sure there is such a thing as community standards any more.” And the December riots on Sydney ‘s southern beaches exposed some obvious law-and-order problems.

There are some common causes for the collapse of civility in Britain and Australia . Far and away the most important is that, not so long ago, the formation of our characters was not left to chance but today, increasingly, it is. In the past, family played a key role in shaping character, and its influence was reinforced by a rich array of civil institutions including churches, Sunday schools, trade unions, friendly societies and mutual aid clubs.

Both families and this wider world held clear views on the type of character each of us should develop. The central message was that our own self-respect was inextricably bound with our guarding the self-respect of others. This character formation was carried out so well that governments simply did not have to think about the issue. Now they do.

The key to the collapse in civility is the decline in Christianity. The British character was shaped by the early 19th-century evangelical revival, which centred on the role of the family and duty to neighbours. This religious revival developed into a creed of respectability that became as natural a guide to behaviour as the air that was breathed. Respectability was not imposed by a pushy middle class. It was engendered by the working class, which learned from experience that chaos was the alternative to a life emphasising respect for others as well as for oneself.

Fundamental to learning these rules of respectability was the family. It was here that each individual learned that they were part of a small group of people to whom respect was owed. Families lovingly taught us how our self-respect was bound up with the respect we had to give other family members. Learning these skills enabled us to negotiate the world outside our front door.

At the root of our present discontent is the failure of many families to nurture their young properly. This is most extreme in Britain , where the growth of single-parent families has been underpinned by the loss of manufacturing jobs offering wages on which young men can finance a family.

What can be done? There is little point in calling for a restoration of the old order. The marginalisation of Christianity, and the erosion by governments of the traditional institutions of civil society, has probably gone further in Britain than Australia , but in neither country can Humpty-Dumpty be put back together again.

This is why, in Britain , the Government has been drawn increasingly into the politics of behaviour. But while it has enacted a whole stream of legislative actions against antisocial behaviour, it shies away from teaching the central point that the nurturing of children requires two parents and active grandparents. The fear is that this message may offend some people’s feelings. But how are the young to gain a guide if those in authority recoil from uttering the truth?

I believe that with the demise of the church’s role in teaching clear guidelines to decent behaviour, the state has to assume this responsibility itself. It should begin with welfare contracts making payments conditional on good behaviour. Likewise, school contracts should specify the behaviour expected of parents and pupils, as well as opening up the debate on what skills young people require (for example, I have found a key wish of pupils is to learn how to be good parents).

So far, the British Government has shown itself unwilling to move swiftly to a contract culture. But something needs to be done urgently to restore the ethic of respect in our society. Our societies cannot survive for long if they are careless about safeguarding their own futures.

Frank Field is a British Labour MP and former minister for welfare reform in the Blair Government. His essay, ‘The Ethic of Respect: A Left Wing Cause’, is available from The Centre for Independent Studies. www.cis.org.au