Discussion
Political cleavages are the basic defining elements in politics. They represent the diverse members of any community. Since this is the case, it can be concluded that there are very many cleavages since every community has many individuals. Each with his own relatively unique view. There are however a few principal cleavages that interest political scientists. (Knapp and Wright, 26)
The first cleavage is called the center – margin. This is the partition of elites in various regions in a country.i.e. those in metropolitan regions and those in more rural areas. This results in regionalism. It expresses itself through the emergence of regional political parties and groups. These parties and groups are seen to primarily push for the desires of the people residing in the regions that they come from. (Knapp and Wright, 59)
The second is the state-church division. This draws the line that separates religious and secular voters. Many country’s politics reflect their religious and secular views. The Netherlands for example has several parties that represent the religious and secular divisions that exist (Wilson, 41). The religious parties represent the catholic and protestant camps. The secular parties represent social democratic and liberal views.
The third division is the Owner-Worker division. This is caused by class differences. It creates left and right-aligned parties. The parties advocate for the interests of their respective groups. The fourth main cleavage is called Urban-Rural. A good example was in Scandinavia. Here, the rural class were informed and were able to form their agrarian political parties. (Knapp and Wright, 79)
Political cleavages are ever emerging. They also can evolve. For example, the cleavage between owner and worker has been subdivided to distinguish between people who have work and those who do not. The cleavages that have contributed to my views include the owner-worker divide. This divide is more prevalent among minority groups in most developed nations. In Britain, a white person’s vote will mostly be influenced by his ethnicity rather than his class. The same goes for a black person in that country. This stresses the importance of the ethnic factor in the electoral process. (Wilson, 99)
French politics is divided into the left and right factions. This divide came during the French revolution. The rural poor countryside chose the left side. The urban elite took the right view. The supporters of the king took the right side in parliament while the opposition took the left side. French culture was then intensely agricultural. This is one of the driving factors for the French Revolution. The media used these expressions to refer to the rival camps. The right argued against the new organization. They said that deputies must not be allowed to join blocs. The right supported a strong center of power. The left wanted the king’s authority to be reduced. (Knapp and Wright, 145)
The left and right wings became the opposition and government in France. The left or worker cleavage desires government intervention in social issues. This is apparent in French political history. The right supports capitalism and private property. The left fights for social justice. It stresses the role of the government in providing for its needy citizens. (Wilson, 189)
Works Cited
Knapp, A., & Wright, Vincent. (2006). The government and politics of France. New York, NY: Routledge.
Wilson, F. L. (1982). French political parties under the Fifth Republic. Michigan, MI: Praeger.