authority if it is proved easy to abuse. But acting contrary to some rules
because others are being bent and broken may be more damaging than going
along with the outcomes of the rules as they are presently being played.
This creates another problem for the idea of the political culture as a
determinant of stability. If it is not possible to know how far people will
deviate simply because they lack moral respect for government, it is equally
impossible to know whether when they deviate it is because of that lack. In
the Third World there is frequent flouting of the rules, with electoral mal-
practices very widespread. Does this signify a crisis of legitimacy? It does
not always lead to instability, unless instability is defined as breaking the
rules. So it again does not seem to be a very useful theoretical explanation
to say that if consensus is lacking, there will be political instability.
Finally the concept of political culture implies that attitudes and feelings
about politics reflect rational choices and high levels of awareness about
what a political system means as far as individual interests are concerned.
There is no place for the idea of false consciousness or hegemony. Yet what
people believe to be in their interest in terms of structures of government
may be ideas and values that are promulgated by socio-economic groups
intent on maintaining their own domination. Alternative sets of values
would undermine that dominance. The political culture literature to some
extent takes that notion on board with the idea of socialization and the way
sets of political values are passed from one generation to another. But
socialization is described as a generational process rather than as a class
problem, whereby one generation passes on to another values that are con-
trary to their class interests. The idea of political power being in part
expressed through false consciousness and an ability to gain acceptance of
ways of organizing society has very wide implications throughout the study
of politics. The political consciousness of specific groups in Third World
societies is an important issue if we are to understand why so much depri-
vation, injustice and inequality is accepted in societies where such features
are most severe. The political culture idea does not really tackle what must
be regarded as an important dimension of political power.
Inequality
A proposition concerning political instability which can be traced back to
Aristotle is that equality in society will secure peace and stability (Pinkney,
1993, pp. 86–90). This should be very relevant to the Third World where
there are ‘deep, cumulative social inequalities’ (Diamond et al., 1990, p. 19).
Instability and Revolution 235