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lnlroduction

Govelnmenl

Section One:The Slate Wete ln

14

Expression and Opprsssion

18

29

32

Dominanl Culture

Dominant Valu6s

Dominanl Economics

Section Two: Another Slandard

Cullural D€moc€cy

Democralic Values

A Changed Landscape

Opposition

38

42

Ell€ctiv6

Oui Fuluro

Appendjx On6: Tho Shellon Trust

51

Appendix Two: Orcanisers & Cont butors

-56

This manifesto has been organised by a group

ot members ofthe Shelton Trusl, as parl oi lhe Trust's

conlribulion lo a debat€ which has been gathe/ng

momentum lor at least live years. Specifically, it has

been wrllten as a discussion paper tor Another

Slandard 86: Cullure & Dernocracy, a Conterence

iaking placo on July 12th and 13th 1986 in Shefiield.

This conference is itself a slaging posl ida movement

lo establish cutural alliances which aan sel the

agendalor polilical and social change.

The Shelton Trust began in 1979, as a national

organisation ol communily arlists, and has grown lo

embrace a wide range of cuhural workers and

activisls. During that period it has moved from a

concern wjth radicalising 'lhe ans lo a recognitlon

that it is the operation of a domi.ant hierarchical

culture that causes and sustains oppression if this

society. That oppr€ssion underlies allareas ofcultural

wo*. Our desire 10 oppose and change lhis dominant

cullure rs inseparable tom the desire lo change the

polilical and economic systerns which dir€ct and

penelrale il.

Oul of lhis r€cognition has come the

development of a iramewo of ideas we call cultural

democracy. This is nol concemed directly with the

day-lo-day practices oi cultural aclivists. Rather it

addresses the aims ol lheir work. and the work ot the

many thousands of others wo ing to slmilar ends.

This rnaniiesto is wrillen from our expe ence,

and locates lhat experience wilhin a larg€r context ol

society. lt is concemed, in some small pad, wilh 'the

arls'. How€ver, it is nol, in any sense, lhe basis for a

'campaign for the arts'. lt is a specification for

socialism based in a common analysis of polilics,

economics andcullure.

Our aim is the creation ot an egalita an and

pluralsociety, by the exlension ol democratic praclice

10 all social relationships.

xwM

Cullural democracy ollers an analysis of the

cultural, polilical and economic systems which

dominal6 in Bdtain. More impodanlly, it ollers a tool

Elfeclive aclion is impossible without

-ndersland ng. Contrcl ol culture by a snal gtoup s

nol control of thought direclly. Ralher il is the convol

ol the abiity to use lhought and understanding.

Cultur€, at any one time, is th€ agenda of whal ls

imagined to b€ possible. Cullure is not simply the

evrdence of an unequal economic syslem. Culture s

ils toundation, its suppon, ils means ol juslilicatlon

and influence, and lhe context within which thal

system suslains itsell,

Brla'r is h'ghly cenlralised. Ownership re-1ai's

concenlrated in lh€ hands ol very small numbers of

people. Government works by creating and per-

pelrating an exclusive and inaccossible hierarchy,

The same islrue both ol the pow€d!lprotessions and

the media, Togelher lhey transmit a culture which

o ginates in the power of a few but lhrough which all

the population are instructod to live,

At any one lime this powedultew can be crudely

refefied to as 'the ruling class, Thls class can be

denlfied with a group or groups oJ people - lhe

Landed aristocracy, weallhy business psople, top

polticlans and medla celebrities. Whlle entrance is nol

necessarily hereditary, il aLways revolves around the

acquisition and protoction oi wealth.

The power ot these ruling classes is rooted in

economic power, bul it is not limiled to lhis sphere.

-

E

-

This power is also located within, and transmilted

through, the means of cultutal production. They do

not, in general, rulg by force and coercion. They ll.rle

by convincing the majority ot lhe populatiof thal the

present syslem, and lhe structures and institutions

thal embody il, are inev table, 'natu ral' and necessary.

They do lhis throuqh a process of oppression, n

which lhe majo ly are convinced that whal th€y wan1,

whal they think they need, is less importanl than what

lhey are told will be made avaiable to lhem. ln this

way people are encouraged to collude in lheir own

oppression, and rewarded lor do,ng so. This mari-

iesto recognises thal oppression, and ils effects on

lhe possibilities ol an emerging socialism.

W€ believe lhal socialists must develop a

coherent view of culture. we cannol afiord merely to

respofd to dominanl righl-wing individualism by

arguing lor a bit more of this and a bit less of lhat.

lnstead we must produce a positive underslanding

and practice which arise from a difterenl, a socialisl,

view of tho rols thal culture plays ufder capitalism,

and th6 ro e il plays as a vilal part of a democratic

This manilesto is in two parts. The firct pan, 7he

Slate Wele ln, Wovides a short analysis ot some ol

the dominant torces which shape, and will shap6,

Erilish sociely, we do not believe lhal lhese forc€s

diller, n ther underlying motivatiofs and mech

alisms, kom tl^e lorces which shape and delern ne

other'tksl wo d' capitallst societies.

This seclion begins by looking at some of the

delining characleristics of governmenl, which areflCI

related lo inlerlocking nelworks ol professional codes

and practces. lt then Looks at tho avenues of

expression availab e lo ths majo ly of peopl6, and the

dynamics ot cull!ral oppression wilh which people

conlend. I examines tho dominanl culture ard valu€

syslems lhat undeQin lhese syslens ol oppression,

and relates these to the economic syslem thal

legillm ses lheir continued existence.

The second seclion proposes another standard

by whlch a socalism which linked politicaland cult!€lactivism rn ghl move foMard. ll delines a concept ol

cullural democracy, linked to democratic valu€s, and

proposes a number of criteria for an €ffective

opposlion to lhe dominant hie€rchical cullur6. Finally

il lays oul lhe basis lor deciding on praclical poiitical

aims.

It is in lho nature ollhese aims lhallhey must be

decided democrai cally, by those Oroups and

aliances which commit ihemselves lo lheir

achievement,

There are a number of key words which recur

lhroughout lhe maniiesto. We define here lhe way

lhat we inlend to use thern.

We use th€ word cullule to indicate social

actvity lhat creates, communicates or sustains social

value, However, we refer here only to those aclivities

wlch predoninanlly create and suslain social

meaning. Ws nclude in this al forms of public

cornmunication.

We use the wotd politics to mgan the

administering and organising ol al forms of aclivity

belweef people. We do nol just refer to the aclivities

--

of elected or nominated representatives, or specilic

events such as eleclions or parliamentary sessions,

Politics and culturc are bolh ways of desc bing

socialactivity. They are nol separate and conlaifable

activities that are voluntary or optjonal, and from

which people can be excluded or can exclude

themselv€s. Th6y ar€ not somelhing thal can be

added to, orlaken away from, social relationships. On

the contlary, lhey are lhe detifing characterislics of

such relationships.

All people exist wjlhin, and are pa of,

numerous cultures, and all cullures are political. We

are all concerned, individually and in common wilh

others, lo establish our own views and to express our

understandings and our ways ol life. The degree io

which any ol us are successlul, and lheways in which

we are succossful, lies in how far our cultures are

We use lhe word lo mean direcl participation

ano shared powero. a'oper a-d accou']table bas:s

Democtacy, then, is an analysis oi cullur€ and

politlcs, lt can, and should, operate in any area ol

society trom the conduct ol personal relalionships to

the conlrolof the base ol industrialproduclion,

We believe that socialjsm is built through a

process ol deepening and extendrng democracy.

llovernent towards cultural democracy is ils cor€.

flz

Cultural life ,in Britain takes place withln

capitalism. This serves lo limil lhe extenl and curla I

the lorms that lllo can take, However. we believe the

nature of capilalism has b66n completely

misrepresenled by a// the rnaior polilical parlies.

Olten this has beon a deliberate politica strategy.

Somet mes it has been the resull of ignorance. Always

It has resulted in possib lities lor real change,

possio lir es lor a ge ru'1ely denocralic sociely, beirg

stilled orcurlaied.

We intend to examlne briely some key leatures

ol the state ol Brilain, belore outlining a basis lor

rnoving lowards these democatic possibiLilies. We

beg n with tho nature ol government,

We a€ governed at many levels, The United

Naiions, the EEC, The House of Commons, the

House ol Lords, local councils, educalion authorilies,

health aulhorilies, police aulhorities, urban

developmeni corporalions, regiorial authorjUgs, the

monopolislic ulilit es (gas, water, eleclricity),lhe Bank

of England, the Church of England, lhe three arms of

lhe military, arts associat ons, broadcasting

a!thorities, transporl authoilies, the judiciary, and

many bodies from the Olfice ol Fair Trad ng io lhe

DHSS and lhe lnduslrial Tribunals al exercise power

overour lives. whetherwe like lt or not.

Allhough our government is aleged to be

democralic, the rnajorly of lhose bodies lhal have

power to convol, direcl and influence (]s are nol

elec-Fo. The '1embe's-ip ol mosl of then is

appoinled p vately, oJten through mechanisms whlch

are themselves hidden from us. Professional groups

such as barristers are sell selecting, and powerful

voluntary groups, lror. mag slrales lo Arts council

members, are se ected without public accouftabilty,

often as 'experts' frorn intormal lisls oi 'the greal and

the sood.

Mosl lormal bodies operate lhrough invtauon,

in lhis way, just as mosl goverring institutions are

headed by appoinred boards. -1€ sare rs lrue. n

practice, tor the boards oi companies. Size of

shareholding (lhat is, th€ efleclive abilily of the rich to

purchase an invilation) is lho decidng lactor Ieleclion by shareholders,

These hidden slruclures exisl equally in al

walks ol 'public life', and ensure the sultabilily' ol

appointees, The public criteria emerge as

expefience','fairmindedness','edlcatjon' and so on,

The hidden crit€ a ensure lhat their eifect is losuppo inslilutions against the incursion ot wider

experience and p!blic scruliny. l\4oreover, even

where the membershjp of public bodies ls elected

lhere is no mechanism to requlre members to consu l,

involve oa rema n accounrable to their conslluenc es.

Yet this lack of real pub ic control and access

remaras largely u'noticed. The eve'cse ot power rs

regularly described in ways which make il appear dull,

incomprehensible and remote- This dislance,lhis lack

of clarty, is portnyed as normal', as is ihe ack ol

scruliny which inevilably accompanies it. Aithough t is

sometimes pretended othelwise, governmenl is

separalo frorn the irilerests and concerns of the

populat on; excepl briefy at eleclion times, when afl5

mnorlly ol the population choose between the

candidal€s made available lo lhem.

What accountabilty there is wilhin government

operal€s upwards and inwads, towards a smaller

group ol more powerlul poople, rather than outwads

iowards lhe rest ot the population The absence of

any direct and accounlable connection with the

public', has allowed the growlh of systems of ,n/omal

corfolwithin the instilutions ol govemment When we

vote ior a prcgramme of leglslaiion, we later Jind that

its effects are very difierent irom those we intended

This occurs bgcause of the inflLlences oi lhose

systems of lobbying and back-door negotiatlon which

consiilule lhe real mechanisms oi control, and

because thero is no systern for making clear what a

proposal wi I mean in practice,

Currenlly voling seNes simply lo sel in vain a

long, and olt€n secret series ol bureaucratic

mechanisms, What happens lhen remains hjdden

unlilthe resulls finally become publlc.

'Juslice'is no more dernocratic than lhe polillcal

syslem which cufiently, and fraudulently, represenls

ilself as such. Bar slers are called to lhe bar by other

barristers, judges are chosen by olher judges,

lawyers are policed by their own organisalion, lhe

Law Sociely; and at the top oJ lhe p e slts ihe

unelected Lord Chancellor.

Indeed lhe devolopment ot 'justice', in

response to powertul interesls is frequently

oppresslve, first in specillc lerms and then much more

generally, Laws are enacled and insttuled as an

answer lo the immediate needs o{ lhose who

designal€ themselves as 'responsible' for lhe nation,

but th€y also setu€ to add lo the structure of control

and oppression,

The licensing laws, for example, werg lirst

introduced lo cut down on key workers' alleged

drinking du ng the Fksl World War, bu1 have grown

into a major instrument of soclal regimentation- Tho

Prev€ntion of Terorism Acl allowed the pioneerlng of

policing l€chniques in Norlh€rn keland which were

later introduc6d inlo England.

Law-making in British sociely habiluallypreoccupies itse'l wilh pr€vonting people combi'ring

freey, excepl in licens€d or olJicially permitted

groups. lt has also been obsessed wilh controling

fiosdom of movement. This has been relaxed only in

direcl proporlion to lhe increasing ability of

governments and police forces to locale and identify

individuals. The ability oJ individuals to move freely

has b€6n accompanied by a whole ar?y of devices

lo keep track of peopl€ - lrom lhe lnland Revenue's

records lo Nalional lnsuranc€ numbers and

passports, Where these have been administered

separalely, intormalion lechnology increasingly

makes possibJe thek coordinalion for policy purposes.

This system is not neurd. Everybody is notfree

to padicipat€ on an equal basis. lt has been built by

the most powedul groups within socioty rellecting

their inleresls. Government usurps lhe power ot the

eleclorate and acts nol on its behalf but in its stead.

Fublic servanls have becorne ilavemasters. What is

promoled as representatlve democracy ends up as

no democacy atall, bul a libelal oligarchy.fl6 flv

The instilulions and structures ol govemment,

although immensely powerful, are themselves only a

small parl ol the lorces which acl on us, with or

wilhout our permission- Some of the others wield

direct economic power, blrt mostly their power is more

subtle. ln lhe main they are concerned with lhe

mechanisms through which our ives are regr'llated,

controlled and d rect€d.

Prcfessionalism is one of Ihese fo rces. M uch of

the decision-maklng in this sociely is in the hands ol

people who are judged more compelent lhan the

majority of the population, because of the status lheir

prolession is accoded. Usually lhis status is enlolced

by law, either direclly or by ihe lega ly granted power

lo issue licences and certificates, A passport

application, for example, must bs countersigned by a

member of an ollicially recognised protession, with

the resuli that the weallhy and 'educated gel their

fiiends to sign while 'ordinary people havs to pay a

doctor or sol citor a fee lo have il done,

Many of the powers prcfessionals exercise are

unaccountable and self-regulalory, lloreover access

lo lhe re evant skills is deliberalely restricted, and

olten dkeclly lorbidden lor anyono olher than a

Iicerspd prcless o1al. The powet o'tl^e ololess ons

depends on their ablly to mainlain a monopoly over a

rang€ of oflen quite sirllple tasks, and to act to

prevenl olhers undenaking them.

ln p'olesso_s ranging 1om lhe health service

the army, tho police force, to the broadcasllng

nelwo'ks a']d lhe _ewspaper indusla dec'sions

which occur at ths lop oi a protessional hierarchy are

used subsequently to valldale the professional

operatron of the hierarchy. we are told, for example,

lhat television news repods are generally fair and

unblased because the instlutional slruclure ensures

lhat this is so. The BBC was established by

goverfment, as was the lBA. They are said by

broadcasters to be independonl of the system by

which they were set up. This fiction suppons the beliet

that prolessionalism is objecuve by selt-definition.

Prolessionalism operales without relerence lo

the individualieelings ot those proJessionals within it.

Professionals may nol personally suppod or belleve

if the valuss oi the ruling culture, but their work

nonetheless transmils lhese values, because lhey

implemenl ideas which have already been enacted

elsewhere, A gynaecologisl may be personally

sympalhetic lo the needs ol women in childbirth, and

may even be abl€ to change local medical practice

considerably. She is not, however, in any real sense,

accountable lo those wornen, excepl where she may

be proven in law to have made mistakes. Moreover

the women with whom she works have 'ro

power 10

insisl that she work as she does, They are s mply

luc*y lhat she chooses to do so,

Allhough dedicated and Tadica' prolessionals

may be able to alfect local practices, they are unable

to unabl€ lo change or redirecl lhe overall directlon

and resourcing of the seruice to which lhey belong.

The n€eds ol consum€rs are subordinaled to the

praclices and beliels of the professionals, which ale

themselves contaifed by government of that

{E}

fl9

hierarchy.

Wilhin lhis system, there exists a powe.f'r.rl

assumption that need is nol definab e by lhose who

have the need. Need is only definable by those who

have received a long and speciallsed education, and

are usually mombers o{ a prolessional association

that regulates lhs detinition ol othe/s needs. ln facl,

these 'n€eds' usually have much more to do with the

history and internal logic ol professional practcos,

and lhe capilalism wilhin which lhey operate, lhan

with any social expression ol nssds, Poverty is

delined by economists, academics and journalists; by

anybody bui those who experience poverty,

'Standards' have ov€r'ridden people's own definitions

ol need.

To be 'ordinary'wilhin lhis syslem is to be

disenfranchised in evsry area except thg mosl

goneral. Only ai eloctions do 'ordinary' people hav€

power, and in elections lhere are no opportunities lo

comment on specilic issues, no opponunities to make

anylhing butthe rnosl gonoralof comments.

This syslem has been constructed during, and

as a part of, the growlh of capita ism.lt ls neilher an

accident nor a conspiracy, in lhe usual sefse of that

word. lt has be€n assembled slowly over tine,

through the conslant modifcation of behaviour,

actions and methods of licensing, some ofwhich v/ere

deliberately planned and some ol whlch were

unplanned or had unforeseen consequ€nces. lndeed

it is slill being assembled, for it is not tho son of

syslem thal is ever'finished'. This is ils svength, and

lhe reason lhat it is so powedll and so inimical to

democtacy.

Decislon making is h dden, and social needs ar€

redofined as administrative problems. The effect ot

this is to deny the majority of citizens the ability lo

participate in defining lheirown ne6ds.

2A 2n

The mechanisms ol goverfmenlal and

professiona power are bolslered by a number of

assumptions about the ways in whlch ideas are

formed and nrade public, and aboutlhe ways in which

decisions are reached and ralitied These are used lo

jLrstify th€ present syslem, often by arguing that this

system ls somehow inevilable, or lhat ihe

mechanisms thal underpin it are common_sens6"-fhese assumplions promote a particularview.

Forms of expression that people uss vary lrom

group to grolp, community to community class lo

class, bul th€y share common features Where

expression occurs between oquals the terms on

which it occ!rs are erplicit, and personally

understandablo, The people involved make sense of

what lhey leam, because they, Iiterally, know whal is

golng on-

ln reationsh ps where the lerms are hidden.

however, what occurs is not expressive' but

oppressive. Ralher lhan gaining knowledge through

a prccess in which the terms are undgrstood' p€ople

oporate in the dark, picking up incomplete infomalion

the sources o1which remain hidden l\,lany dilferent

groups ol people are oppressed in thisway A majorily

oi the populalion faces some form oi oppression in

lhe extent lo which they have opporlunities lo address

their own needs direclly.

When we read somolhifg in a newspaper' lor

examp e, we are taught to believe lhat it is the same

kind of expresslon we experience ln our daily lives lt

isnt, ll is nol a personal expression' th€ bias ol which

we can recognise, undelsland and allow for;and from

which we can forrn opinions or gain knowledge

Hather it is the prciessonalwo* of a journalist and it

already contains op njons and b as embedded wilhin

it. Th s professionalised intormauon is presented as

though it were raw data, but il has, in lacl, been

seiected by a pa icular class ol professionals to

provide a parlicu ar range ol vi6ws,

when l-e Peacoc( co nn:ttee was consderi'1g

lhe future ol the BBC,lhe llmes ran many edilorials

and a icLes stressing lhe need to break up this

unwieldy and unnecessary monopoly. This

inlormaiion comletely changes character il one

realises that Fuperl Murdoch has a large linancal

int€rosl in television cornpanies whlch \4ould directy

and greally benelll from th€ dismantling ofthe BBC

This kind of intormation is externallolhe reader.

The choices il ollers aI€ spurious, for people can only

use it to form a point ol view which has eflectlve y

been predeterrnined by lhe pre-packaged range thal

is offered, l\,4oreover. the cri16ra used in lhe

conslrLrction ot this €nge of vews are concerned,

dkectly or indireclly, with prolitability.

The concern ol the professionals involved is at

one evel or anolher, wth a iofin ol presenlaton

wh'ch keep people buyi_g (and walcl_ing ot lislen ng

or reading), lnformalon, therefore , comes in lhe forrn

of 'stories' about perconalllies, and nol in the forrn ol

dsveloped argunents aooul rssues. Actve clo ce is

rendered unlikely, and parUcipalion in lhe crcalion ol

public opinion is removed from the agenda

No ordinary' porson, libelled by a national

62za

newspaper, can ailord to seek redress ln the courls

There is no legal ald available for this purpose From

this perspective, the owners ol newspapers, whether

ndlviduals or corporalions, can be seen to own lhe

rneans to create social meaning ll is unimporlanl

whether or nof the Sun or the Mitot suppoft a

particular issue. Whal matters is their power to define

the range ot views thal will be deemed 'legitimate'

around any issue, and their relaled abllity 10

undermine popular belief in any allemativeview.

This power is maintained by the power ol

wealth. Directly, it is mainlained by lhe ability of larce

companies to undercul smaller compelilors and thus

force them out of business. ll you have no purchasing

power, you have no voico and lh-s no purchasing

power. lndirectly, it is maintained by the kind ol

€xpe,rsive lobbyrg which resulls ir rcensing

regu ations, and legalkameworks which work to their

advanl9ge,

Such concentralions ol Power are

fundamentally undemocralic because they create

and suslain a specific vlew ol society in a way which

canfot easily be challenged, The means lo propogale

opinions publicly through the modia s literally owned

by a srnall number ol rlch men, whose cullure has

moblised and used the struclure ol lh€ law to

support, mainlain and develop a moriopoly

The mechanisms of oppresson lfterlock lo

lorm a domlnant c!lture, W€ are displaced fron lhe

centre oi our lives. We learn through sophislicated

ald ohen appa'erlly co'ger al mea_s Ihat B ila n is

'our cultlre, our sociely'and lhat we both pa iclpate

ir it and beneiit frorn it, even though in fact a majority

o' peope may be lhirkirg a1d leelirg olhe'wise

From the values it promotss and lhe symbols it uses

in this promotion we learn lo detine our expectations

and inlerprel ou' own 'ives Personal erp€rierce

becomes inlerior, somelh ng nol wonh cormunica_

ling orsomelhing thatwon't be heeded

We recelve rather than express, and lake pa

in our own oppress on by acling uncritlcally on

received desires, valuss and storeolypes. These

serue to divert ationtjon lrom the complexilies of

inleraction to th€ simplicitios ol an extemally dkected

cullure, Th€ perennial enthusiasm whjch is fostered

tor our heritage' is an examplo ol one such

stereotype, lt points attention backwards and

undermines a lactivity except that whlch coniorms to

what is classiiled ollicially as'cultr'lre' ll does lhls by

aifirming the oflicial verslon ol history and then

romanlicising lt. This delermines the agenda oi

relerences forthe luture,

It is ircnic, then, thatthe guardians and curatoG

ol lhls olfioial' culture regularly remark on the

propenslly oi totalharian slales to falsify h slory, as

though the history they teach is absollte, objective

and universal, and all their records are a true'

representation ot the pasl. ln so dolng lhey hide lheq^La1l

iactlhal B tish cultur6 also pedorms lhis lunction, but

in a way which d sguises the tacl. The heritage of the

ruling class is lhe oppression, even the slavery ot

otherclasses and olher naiions.

The hjstory wh ch comprlses 'our he tage' rs not

ln any way objectlve. I has been written by those

groups occupying lhe positions of power whlch

enable lhem to shap€ public knowledge. These are

also the groups wilh most to protecl, The efiecl of a

popular acquiescence in lhe idea ol 'our heritage -

whal 'we' did yesterday, rather than what is lo be

done now - is the same as lhe effecl that lhe

monopolisl modia g€nerate. Lt delines whal is

vaLuable, wh' e idenl fying lhe peop e lhal own it in as

anodyne a way as possible.

Any opposilion 10 lhe prevailing slandards,

therefore, seems to have less validity than the

dominant cullure it opposes. lt seems less r€al, l6ss

so id, less known, less re iable, less 'Brilish', Po itical

action has a sligma allached to it. To organis€ against

the status quo impli€s going againsta'natu€l ordgr'

ol lhings, aid therefore implios deiying common

sense. Any group which soeks to estab ish ils own

idently, based around its own definjlion ol its needs is

disadvaflaged lrom lhe outsel.

These received ideas alfecl us all. W€ aro

affected by how tar we feel these ideas lo bg

accessible or resslable and by how larwe believo our

lee ings lo be shared, The domjnant cuilure promotes

panicular imaqes and dernoles olhers, lt manip!lales

ieeling by lnvokiig ideas ol wonh which lhe vasl

malority ol citizens have had no pan if creaUng.

Thg ability lo name and to deline is a key toolforI'ose wlo conffol thg doninant cu,ture. Namrlq

confers power. This power flows trom ownership ot

the means to propogale and promdl6 lhose

defifitions. ll pernrits the crealion of image, identity,

social value and status. lt is a process of judgement,

which autho.ises and leg t l1is6s some tnings w']ile

deToling and dsmssrng oll'ers, -his pow6r isapplied across a whole rangs ol social activities and

afianqements.

Own€rshlp, access and distribution permit the

making oi categorcal and apparently absolute

stalemonts on lhe basis of their being 'infomed' and

'independent' judgem€nts. These exemplify'excellence'; what is mosl desirable, most suitable

and leasl challenging io the interests oi lhe dominant

cullures.

The culture ol lhose who are most powedul is

manifest, We need to romind ourselves, lor exampl€,

thal the Hammer Bearn roof in Westminster Hallwas

made by numerous skilled working people and nol by

ths monarchs and politiclans whose nam6s are

associated with lhe buildifg. ll is remembored for rts

associalion with personal power rather than

col aboralive skill. The workers w'o nade it ';d no

say in whal lhey were building or lhe pupose to which

it would be pul and lhe workers'names, th6 records of

lhe r liv€s ars lost, il indesd they werc ever recorded.

Oflicial history comprises the legacy of lhe

power ol ruling class€s to name, realised in the

actions and a elacls named, Bolh have values

deriving iiom lheir crealorc, but the va ues atlached26 q)VAU

I@IM

to those who initialed, commjssoned or boughl theni

are imposed on them.

Art', ike 'herilage', is an ideoLogical

conslruction. Access to a position ol power wilh n

sociely conlers the ab lily to transmil value through

personal tasle. ldeas can be owned, and the

promotion ol one padicular group oi creative skills as

'art. and th6 simultaneous dismissal of all other such

skills as mere 'crafls', is one way ln which this

ownership is enlorced,

The whole edllice of production in lhis soclety is

lounded upon this separation of acuvily from purpose.

To be placed oulsde the ambit of approved

detinilions is almosl invarably lo be deprived ol any

torr of publc dislr,bulon. E)'p'ession 1avacLumis

no expression at a l. lt is a bewildering oppression, ol

a son wh c! has beer applied syslerrarically du'irg

the development of capilalism to 'an', lo women, to

minorilies of allkinds and to othersoc eties.

These mechanisms are deslgned to promote

one parlicular sel of values at the expense of all

others, They airn lo make impossible lhe existence

and developmenl ol other sets ot va ues, particularly

l-ose a.rsing from orher culures. They an.moreover, lo sustaln lhose who promole lhem,

Dominant culture is underpinned by a set of

values, some ofwh ch are codified in law and some of

which are promoted informally. lt is justfied by lhe

notion thal lhese values, and the laws and regulallons

made in lheir name, are universal, lirneless and

absolule. ln realily, however, aws are made and

admin stered by the most powerfulgroups in sociely,

and necessarily reilect and pror.ote their interesls. By

lhis means those whose lives form and suppon the

rulnq cukure impose lhei needs, thei behavour

and thelr values on lhe rest of the populalion, while

maintaining thal lhese values are an objectivo

measurernenl oi civilised behaviour.

Pa icular ways oJ behaving are elevated into

'standards ol behaviour', in a way wh ch denigrates

and disenlranchises the habits and ideas of other

groups, ln lhis way a uniform patlern oi social

expectalions emerges, arid we subscribe lo or are

lorced to aspire lo one set of values, Expeclations are

d vorced lrom needs.

This process oi separation is a cenlal lacet of

the dominanl cu lure, and one oJ lhe stanirig points

for ils system of values. Peop e are separaled from

each oller oy professional int€rm€diar'ies.

Generalised informalion s superlmposed of personal

knowledge. Feeling is separaled lrom action.

ln this way indviduals are encouraged lo

believe that they alolre are responslbl6 for their

personal advancement- Wth lho excepton of lhose

actions which are detined as criminal, it is, however,

notviewed as lheir responsibilly I this turns oul to be

ooz@)

at the expense ol other people. Thus a system ls

created which maintains conlrol by opening up

dislances between people, and then iustifies itself by

claiming that this distance is 'nalural'.

The hiqhly paid are depicted as 'top people"

which ineviiably implies th€ existence ol'botlom

people'. CaPitalism constructs an apparently 'natural'

order: a pyramidal slruclur€ which is a social version

ol lhe suruivalol lhe fillesl, in which af€w hawks rule

over many sparrows This is th€ doctrine of

individualism; a doct ne which is used to justify those

ideas, values and beli€fs which most suit the ruling

groups in this society by dressing them up in an

apparsnt objeclivity.

The structure ot language ilself is subjectto this'

and is used lo support apparent objectivity Whenever

the words are nol lhere an idea or leeling wi'l remain

unslaled, Language can be a door to underslanding

but itcan also be a baftier preventing our access lt is

a Jeature ol an opplessive culture that languago will

consislently promote lhe interests of the most

powerful. Language is never neulral. People who are

oppressed, for example, are redelined as

'disadvantaged', in a way whlch immobilises them by

reducing a polilical issue io a problem of

adminislralion.

The slrLtcture of society the language thal wo

are laught, combins to dis€nfianchise the majority of

the population by promoling values _ tools of

urderstanding - lhat apparently rnean one thing' but

operale lo anolher, unstated end,

Cultur€s may change cons derably without

M-L--'tBg='

35D

changlng lhe ceftralfact thal there is a culture which

dominales and imposes an oppressive slandard, and

thal this rulng culture determines the oppodunities

and avenues of cullural expression for lhe majority of

citiz€ns. This is compl6tely incompalible with

5X5CI

Domlnant cullure, and lhe syslem of dom nanl

valLres which suppo{s il, have been generated and

sustained lhrough economic power, connecled lo the

changed, and chafging, nature of the capilalism

wlthin whlch cultulallile takes pace.

Capllallsm began as an economic system which

lndustriallsed lh€ prod!ction and dislribution oJ

Vadil onal goods lrom clothes, househotd and

v/orkplace implements to lood_ At lhis stage il was a

way ol producing, more prolitab y, what peopte

a ready wanled, whelher shirts, knives or cheese,

Thls process involved individual enlrepreneuls

deve oping, or paying to have developed, |dus-lrialised equivalenls of Vadilional goods. Thus the

soap that was produced industrialty tn the latter halfofthe nineleenth century was not lhe same as soapproduced tradilionally; bul il was an anaogousproduct capable of seruing lhe same lunction as

traditional soap,

The ioglc ot capitalism, though, contains no idea

ot sllfic ency. lt s a system in which growth occurs forprofit, and the generation of wealth becomes a value

in its own right. There ts no sLrch lhing as sufficient

proil, and iherelore no poinl at which a business, or

an enlrepeneur wil have grown rich enough. Unllke

physical hunger, a h!|ger for money and the power il

br ngs, is never saliated.

For this reason capilalism did not cease

growing when it had reached lhe point where jt was

capable of meet ng the basic needs of food, sheltsr

and clolhing. ll continued to generate prod!cls and

services, afd began the simultaneous project ofcreating markets for them_ lt also began lo encroach

on more and more areas ot social life, as it expandedfrom lhe prodLrction of simpte, tang bte goods lo lhecapita ised dellvery ol setuices s!ch as'educalio|,or'heallh'

As it did lhts, it necessarity movod from being amelhod of organislng econom/c production lo amethod of ordering conscio!sness fecessary for everincreasing produclion. The production oJ qoods andservices is ceasing to be its prlmary task, lnslead thishas become the prodLtclion ol rnarkels whosest mulaled'n€eds'it canthen meet.

This is b€ing achieved by a number ot means.Firstly compantes have tended to amalgamate orabso6 each other, wilh.ths resutt that in most majorareas of produclion there is an €lfeclive monopolyheld by asmattcanet. This monopoly has been abt€ todefine popular expectations by d6termtning thechoices thatwe wiJlbe allowed, and marketing what isessentially lhe same matedal in a variety ot shapesand with avariety of catcutatedty difterent images.

This monopolislic power has also enabled thepromotion of a consensus view of, say, the necessity

of usirg washing powder or shaving crearn, or thenormality and desirabitity of smoking cjgarettes. From

lhis perspective every advertisment for a lamily catr is

a piece ol propaganda about the desirabitity of d ving

rather than laking the bus or train. Over and above

lhe effect of a specific advertisement in selling us one

or anolher car, we are sold th6 idea tJrat we need acar, whatever brand we choose. it tells us that the

t)9)

{ro

corred choice is between brands ol cars ralher than

oehvee_ ouying a ca'or a bus Pass.

Second y capllalism has sought to break down

needs into smaller and smal er units, in order lhal we

can be laught lo use a greater number ot products

and services to achieve the same eflect Thus the

need to be healthy has been lurned inlo a desire _ a

rnarket - lor dielary supplements, vilamin pills and

body lotions. Even the desk€ to be thin, itsell the

subjecl of and at least partly the res!ll of widespread

promotion, is lurned into a matkel lat additional

conslmer goods, including low calorle toods and

appellto suPPressants,

Th rdly the prcvision ol prclessional and olher

services have been capilalised, with the resultlhal the

number ot professional intermediados with lhe ability

to exert profound eflects on our lives has incroased

dramatically, and lhe markel lor lheif services is lho

subject of deliberale stimulalion.

The mechanisms of slim! alion arise as a parl

of the dominanl cu lure and the values il promotes,

and lhemselves serue lo sustain and develop it. This

cullurs is the medi!m through which the business ol

creating markets is managed and at tho same lime

hidden iiom view, lt also enables and !nderurles lhe

shaping and determining of popular €xpectatiors inlo

the lorms necessary lorthis business lo happen.

Cullure then is not something which happens on

ths iiinges ol capitalisl economics. lts manipulation iE

the key to capilalism's continued groMh, and h

its continued exislence. Culture, therelore, cannol

wheth€r socialisl or nol. lt is a vitalarea for campaign

and struggle. Capitalism is not bounded simply by

poljtics and economics. Opposition which does nol

rccognise this cannot be efiective.

Opposilion must also recognis€ capitalism's

own transformation of ilself. Ralher than roacting lo

lhose structures capilalism has opgraled, it musl

antjcipate and address conlrol as it is now being

€xercis6d and developed.

Capitalism is dynamic. The masive pot€nlial of

information lechnology is currently i!elling a

translormatior ot conlrol in lh€ woro s econom es,

Ownorship ol conlrol is becoming more important

than iornral ownorship ol the means of production.

Production is gv€rywher€ being diversified whlle

control is being cenlralisod, which weakens the

indust al power of workers and the polilical conlrol of

nation stales.

This applios lo manufacturing, and it also

applies lo the creaUon oi markels for multinatioJral

corporalions. Tobacco companies are adapling to lhe

increasing impact ol legislation in OECD countdes by

transfer ng sal€s lo new markets,

It also applies to lhe movement of wealth to

capitalise and inslale new forms oi conlrol. Cornpuler

and salellite technology can now move rnoney

beyond the abilily of governmeftalexchange controls

to reslrict rnovemeft. This lransnalional operation

cannot be controJled dernocralically, nor opposed by

any conventional approaches to law, political

organisation or govenment.

lnduslrial or economic aclivism, lhen, will bo64 an issue ol perpheral concern to political activislB 55

Iutile withoul a parallel cullural aclvism, j!st as

cullural aclivisro which is nol rooted n po it cal and

econom c aclivsm wl be selt-servng and lrivlal.

Witho!t cullural democracy, lnduslrial or polltical

democracy are merely abstract notions incapable ol

being put inlo praclice. Together they are capable oi

bringing democracy into exislef ce.

a

oo ooo2(AOQJ

Choice s never universal, bul is aways

bounded by constraints some ol which are pracucal

and some ideologica. Allleelings and allopifions are

particLrlar, and arise {rom and relate direclly 10

parllcular commlnites, classos and cutures. Al

culture is political afd it works lo lhe advanlage of

lhose who have lhe rnost opportunity to make choic-o

because they exercise the mosi power.

The cu'renl mode ol social o'garisalon is

Lrnable to cope wilh any gro!ps whose interesls are

dilferent lrom its owf, except in ways which are

oppressive. lt is lnable to cope democraucaly, for

example, with the demands made upon I by

rn ult cu ltu ralism.

ll updates imperiallsm in order to designate

groups as rinorilies in need of le p, o' as aliens in

need ol civilising. lt denies them any righis of

particlpalion in plannifg or admlnisttalling their

needs. lnslead it arranges to acl on thek behali and in

their stead. Whit€ arc oilicers, for example, set up,

and then subseq!ently staff, 'elhnic arts comm ttees

rather than restructuring lhe inslitltions within which

they work, so thatthey can becorne gen!iney plural.

Moreover ll exports th s deniallo the rest of lhe

world. [,lr.rllinalional food cornpanies, tor example,

create and then monopolise markels for lood

producls that are entirely unrelated to expressed

feeds. Technical expe ise that could be used to

assist indigenous agrculture and make possible tho

local control ol nulrition is used by the oECD nations

i6 d slorr naliona economies in the Thitd World in

order lo supply markets lor anjmal feed crops.

ProdLjctfue capacily s dverted to suppod Weslern

Teal cons--lpton and lhp 'esuling gap s

convenienlly lilled by imporled baby ioods,

manulacturcd by the muLtjnatonals.

This prccess, lke most of lhe socal processes

which surround Lrs, happens in our name, athough

we are g ven no opport!nity to shape, direct, contrcl

or prevefl il. lt seryes as one oi a multitude ol

examples. all of which indicate the profound need for

a democrallc syslem capable of permitling direct

expressions oi n€ed, not by a private netlvork oi rul ng

groups, but by the majority ol citzens.

ll high ghts the imponance ol br.rilding a polilical

syslem wh ch is genu nely and d reclly democratic,

and which enables the majorily of cilizens to

parlicipate n lhe crealion and maintenance of social

rghls. Wjlhn a democracy there can be no

assumption lhal righls exisl, lor ln a democracy lher€

are no dghls except lor lhose which are openly and

democralically made. S!ch a syslem depefds on

creation ralher lhan assLrmption, on communicalion

and expression rather lhan reslriclion and

A measure oi lhe extent to which a society s

democratic can be iound n how far people leel that

they are able lo express lheir needs through

pa.lic palio_ rn ts ad.l ,rrsraro,r: whelher r_ choos:ng

w_al l_6y are ab e lo ouy whe' lLey go shopping or n

plann ng pub ic lransport roules or even n going to

war. n a genuine democracy people make their

orlture rather than have il rnade tor lo lhem - localiy,59

nationally and lnternalional y.

This is whal we mean by cult! raL democracy. ll s

a conllnuous po ilical syslem, which depends on

exchange and colaborat,on. ll depends on lsle'i'gas well as telling. lt ls necessarily accessiblo to

convibutoris lrom many sources, and il makes

poss ble democralic movemenl through lh€ building

oi social alliances, lt is a process which beg ns frorn

the proposilion lhat democracy is impossible unless

al the adminislralive syslems within a society are

themselves democratic, understandable and

ava able lor Lse by lrre r4oriry of tl-e pop rlaron.

The ideas that conslitute culturaldemocracy both enable and depend upon

dhect participation, and take as their aim the

building and sustenance of a society in whlch

people are free to come together to produce,

distribute and receive the cultures lhey

choose,

A culture that is genuinely dernocratic

presupposes on y ilux and change, Polllical a ms

cannot be identif ed separately from lhe means lo

implement lhem. Peopl€ make demands which lead

to polillcal objeclives. when implemenled lhese

demands do not cease. They are conlingent on lho

service received, and lhey condition lhe operaUon ol

this seru ce.

Services rn!sl thereiore be crealed and

administrated in recognition oi the democratic

process, with the raeans of real dernocrat c chango

buill n. Th6 poinl where a servlce is inslitlted is the

po nl oi closesl contacl with those whose demands

rE)led to ils creation, That sense ol conlact should be

integral, from the moment oi foundalion lo the regu ar

working ol the seryice. lf il s not, ther lhe selvice wi I

not prcmolo lhe va ues lhat sLppofted ils creation. lt

w ll atrophy n the m nds of ts users as lhey lose their

sense ol rnvolvement, and as lhey conlinue lo move

lorward while lhe sedice apparenUy slands still,

A sociely commitled to culturaldemocracy, and

to lhe induslria democracy and political democracy

thal must accompany il, will necessarily operate with

dlllerent and open valLres and standards-

4n4CI

Dominanl culture is energelically promoting

individualism. Th6'new individualism' it is alleged, will

take society lorward into a new era of 'populal

cao lals-, Wlal r wil sclualy do. is lo 'noder'l ce

and slrenglhen af existing lramewolk ol unequal

socal reatio_ships, whia leaving the' basc

prifciples untouched,

There is a crucial diflerence belween the kind of

individuaism which is being promoted and

individuality. fhe famet is the product of, afd lsell

suppons. a syElen' ol oppressive values. lt ls an

invitalion lo plan personal weliarc, and access to the

limited materialgains which are desirable lor personal

wel'are, lo t"e exclLsion olwde'socal concetrs.

Th s individua sm is lrresponsible because lt

pretends that the ind vidual can somehow be

absoLved of social responsibility. This kind of

indiv dualism abandons oi any possibility ol making

common rights, in lavour ot a brutal scranrble lor

whalever righls have been conceded by those groups

that currently possess lhe pow€r to deline.

Thls irresponsibility supports the claims of the

mosl powerful minoriues lo impose their desires on

society, and have them egilirnised as natural' needs,

iusl as it efiectively deiies the possib lity of rec prcca

social realionships. lt is in direct opposition lo that

form of responsibilty which arises fiom a mutua

recogniton of needs and the consequenl making of

rights through lhe process ol exchange.

We believe thal values arse and are susla ned

and deve oped as patl ol a social process They

occur within the relatlonships that exisl and develop

between people, and form a vital part of those

relationshlps. Values are developed and egitimjsed

through a process of negotiation

We rnust seek to develop systems of values

which are pluralislic. Values arise wilhin communit es'

within grcups oi people, and they draw lheir strength

and vltality from the lile of these communities. We

must find ways of enabling the values ot diflerent

groups lo coexlst, withotll one oppressing the other'

46

A panicular sel of creative acts, 'lhe arts',

ldentilies a sma I range of actvty \thich has been

chosen lrom an inlinitey arger range. This choice

r€presents lhe va ues ol one pai( cular class. lt s the

operat on ot an oppressive cu ture. We believe lhat

whatevet aealive acts people panicipate in are

important 10 those peope, and are capable of

producinq the pleasures and inslghts usualy

all buted lo the arls.

The arls are a mechansm Jor award ng

prvlleges lo creative acts sanctioned by some

powerlul groups at lhe expense of a I others. Bodies

llke the Arts Counc I ol Greal Britain are unelecled

ways ol perpetrating this and should be abo ished.

They are by nature 4capable ol re,orm. From the

persdectlve ol clltural dernocracy, we beleve it is

mporlant s ensurinq that a pluraily of cullural

prodLrction is posslble, that the resouTces lor such

activllies are avaiable in ways people can use, and

that there exist distribuuon channels able and wiling

to dlstibute lhe wide var ely ol work that occurs.

The inlellectlal and adminlstrative apparalus of

'arls fund ng agencies are vifiualy unable to cope

properly wth ary arl whch does nol have ils

anceslry in the Renaissance or the subsequenl

h story ol cosmopolitan European {ine a . AIr can

pedorming arts, for example, are lorced to redeline

themselves as e ther music, poelry or dance, n order

to lit inlo a dorn nant Eurocenlric concepton anC thus

meet lhe criter a oi lunding adencies.

When a// peop e's creativity is laken serlously,

the idea ol'cu lural indListr es' s more usef! than the

dea ol lhe arts" in which unaccountable fundfg

bodies glve oul lheir 'prnces favolrs' lo the ucky

recip enls ol thelr'expert choice. A cullural ifdusldes

strategy recognises that d flerenl groups ol peop e

express lhemse ves in diJlerent ways, using differing

forms. Fudher it is not lhe parlicu ar lorm used, bltthe serior,rsness ol inlent and lhe place lhat activity,

and the producls thal result irom it, occupy wth n the

lives oi communities. Fundng, where necessary,

should recogn se intenlion, nol the medium lhrough

which that intention is expressed.

Criteria ior lunding culluraL activities which

begin wilh a series ol mora jLrdgernents aboul the

place ol cerlain aclivlies within the'High Ans are noi,

and never can be, democratic. Whalever their

apparent intenlon, they willalways be oppressve.

From the starling polnl of cultural democracy

qlresrions oi access to pLrbllc buildligs for people wllh

disabiiues cease to be issues ol'concern', which can

be undenaken 'as soon as possible, and become

what they tr!ly are: basic questions ol democratc

riglrls, Such quesllons necessarily ptecede all

co-side ario's oi consl'Lclng den'ocralic le sure

poicies. They cannot merely be a part oi such

policies.

Wthout access to pubic buildngs, large

numbers of cilizens have thek lreedom curtailed, are

disenlranchised, and efl unable lo panicipale. The

lack oi availability of public lransport and essential

s!ppod servces such as ch dcare cudailthe freedom

ol further arge groups ol ciizens in a way which is46

ncompatible with democracy. lBritain's nalional newspapers are the persond

property of eighl)deahhy mef- 80% ol periodicals are

distributed through jusi three wholesalers, who

efleciively have belween them the power lo

determine what magazines reach the public.

Democracy requires that monopolles be dis-

nranlled. ll requires thal the costs ol such iorms of

production be lowered, and dislribulion systems b!ilt

which allow people to influence what is distlibuted. ll

fu her requires that people have access lo the

producers whlle having the space to s mpy ignore

them.

Socialism slands forlhe redisvibution ol weahh.

To be democral c, it has lo redistribute power.

Centraisaton r€sulls in a separalion belween a

facility, a setuice, and those who produce and use t,

Cultural democracy lherefore proposes decen-

lralisation, as a means of breaking down power, and

prevsnting ils accumulation ln unassailable

Decenlralsat on ot cultural resolrces can be

achieved wilho!t parochial sm, establishing locally

conlrolled production and distribulion netlvorks which

allow people to exert active iriflLrence, lnstead of

cenlralised power wh ch percolales downwards,

cullural democracy resls upon a pluralty ol local

powers which can choose lo lederale on a bas s ol

reciprocal need, for examplei lo build roads, lo

provide networks of heallh care or 10 rnanufactlre

goods requiring a large scale oi operation,

Any elfective opposltion musl nol merely

propose anoiher exlernal 'polilical syslem, bul musl

work towards iundamenlaly d fferent ways ol feellng

and liv ng. We cannot use lhe langlage and practices

ol a capitalst, hierarchical, monarchical, sexist,

racist, m litar st cu ture to propose, and organise for,

rts replacement. We cannol successf!lly comm-

un cate the need io creale domocratic ways ol iving

by using the values of a society which we recognlse lo

be divlsive, exploitalive and oppressive,

We habilually reter to as the'Labour[,4overnenl', yet it is in realily no such thing. lt is a

series ol partially democratic svuclures which can, for

instance, lransmit sexisl values every bit as we I as

the Consetuative Party. When actually in government,

lhe Labour Pa y did nol create slrlclures which

promoied soclalist values, and did not add io, or buid

on, progressive deas such as th6 co-op6ratve

movement embod ed, b-l nsread enacled reiorms in

much lhe same way as a riineteenlh century Liberal

governmenl.

Nalionalisalion has been, in praclice, morely

economic reform ol dlsorganised ind!stries, in ways

whch put them under nominal state rather than

'private ownership. The health service, lor example,

never came under d rect democralic control and has.

in consequence, been altacked successfully by

subsequent governments, incuding lhe ast Labo!r

governmenl and the present Thatcher governments,

The electorate neither owns nor conlrols lhe heallh

sen ce l' l"as lrerely bee- lod lhat it does. in46

rEI@

contrad ction of a legal and polil cal syslem thal

recognises on y power and nol need.

The institLrtions thal corilrollhe stale are not the

electorale, nor can they leglimately stand in for, or

undersludy, the e ectorale, The electorate, ho\,1/ever,

has no dlrect control over the mechanisms ot the

state, Voting is at best an occasional syslem ol

influence wilhin which sell regulating political parties

promole policy direclions aboul which most of the

popu atlon have no coherent knowledge, [,{oreover

lhey are not provlded wilh anything from which lhey

co!ld form such knowedge,

Any analysis ofwhal we mean by'lell wing musl

lhercfore beg n with a lundamental reapprasalof our

startinq poinl. lt must slart wllh an underslanding of

how our presenl society operales; how the many

slructures and organisations, and lhe complex

relationships belween lhem, exist and have elfect,

This requkes examination, but this examifatof

cannot clalm to be Unal. lt cannot be prescriplive, bu

r.ust be preiiguralive. lt is a pulling logether of many

lhreads to creat€ visible understanding that popu ar

movemenls ar€ political change.

A dlflerent 'lefl politcs needs to be created,

where unilary polllica parties do nol appropriate lhe

slrugg e and experience of olhers in order to jusllfy

being representalive. The iorms oi such a po ilics will

deveop through allances, through direct com-

binalions oI dillerenl grolrps, nol led bul leadiig

jolnlly.

The alliances we envisage will be condiliona.

That is to say, the groups involved wi I come together

around specilic iss!es, without comprom sing lheir

overall aims, They will nol, then be a united Jronl,

which seeks to bury or hide dilferences, bul wlll

operale on the basis ol construcliv6 disagreement.

These alliances wil also b9 contingont. Thal is to say,

they w ldepend Lpon rr€ g'oups involvod conlinuirg

to place the alliances on their lists of prio lies. Th6y

wil nol be open ended but rather will be explicilly

renewed or canceled at regular interyals.

Within these alliances any one static social

anaLysis - class analysis, lor example - will be

recognised as oppressjve wherever and whenever it

seeks 10 be monopolistic. Women, gays and lesbians,

Blacks and Asians, people wlth disabilities, and similar

groups do not tace harrassmenl or disadvantage

becauso oI class, but because ol being female, gay,

Black, Asian or disabled. However, this is not lo say

lhat people ar€ not harmssed because lhey are

wo*ing class-

To say lhal lhis oppression does not oxisl. or is

sor.ehow less or less rmponant, it poopls are not

working class, or to say lhal , il peopls are oppressed

lhey must be working class, is ilsell oppressivo. lt

limits and constrains id6n1ity, it cancols oppodunitjes,

for selldolomination and it undermines the pluralily

of experience,

We must recognise lhal capitalism has

developed beyord being a forr of €cononic

production, and is now predominanlly a method of

creat ng and sustaining the conditons necessary for

lhal economic produclion to flo!rish and grow. Any

movement lhat aims io be elfective in proposing an494E

idea ol society other lhan lhal promoted by capitalism

mrst recognise lhal cap ta' sm cannol be oveflh'own

by activity whlch'takes place solely in the sphere ol

econonrics or poliUcs, because the organisation of the

social syslem extends beyond these,

Actions in lhess spheres, undertaken ln lhe

belief lhat they ate, on lheir own, ?evoluUonary" will

be doomed to failure. They wlll at besl retorm some ol

the surface aspects of tho system, while leaving ils

core unlouched, They can provid€ no radically

elfective opPosilion.

Our polilics should procoed from lhe recognition

that oppression is not siatic but occurs withlt

relationships. lndeed it could be said that oppresslon

is lhe relatio-ship belween people n an oppr€ssive

society. Politicalgoas are specific kinds of constanlly

occurring change, mther than stalic ends which in

practlce prornote lhoir own invisible agenda We need

a programme to promote a movo lrom separaUon to

cornmunication, fromdisconnected passivity to en-

gaged activily.

We mr.rst work to inverl the oppresslve logic ol

the cufient licensing and regulatory mechanisms We

must replace ihem with denocratlc processes

capable ol serving psople's needs.

we m!sl campaign for social slructures which

allow and encourage lhe right ol access lo tho

creation and dist butlon ol ideas, teelings and beliefs.

People musl have a rlght to make ihemsleves heard,

and to make lheir views and opin ons public in ways

whlch satisfy lheirperceived and expr€ssed needs

We mustwork forlhe decentralisalion of cullural

production and dislribulion. we must move from a

system in which ideas and producls are transmitled

lrom cenlra ising sources. We m!sl argue for systems

to suppod ideas and products which are producod

and distributed kom many local and regional sources

where they occur, and to supporl their s!bsequenl

Iederal on or netwo*ing,

we must recognise cultural plurality. The

dominani cultural mochanisms are currenlly geared

to the mass production of a v6ry limited range ol50

views, emanating from interlocking interesls lhat

constilute the ruling class,

This monopoly as maintained by the anificially

high costs ol access to the media of comm!nication,

and by legal reslrictlons imposed in lho name ol

'public interesl', These entry costs must bg

dramatically lowered, and these monopolies must be

broken up. These cuffenl lorms of social control must

be replaced by an enlirsly diiferent lorm ol social

accountability geared to promoting pluralities of

expression.

We musl learn dilferent klnds ol responsibility

lrom those used to juslify the nonopolios ol the

dorninant instilutions. We must begin by recognising

that cuitures aris€ within groups and are expressed

colleclively. Groups have a riqhl lo express

lhemselves and corrmurrzale in their own voice and

in thek own lorms. Any notion of ?esponsibility' that

s.lences some voices and reslricts some forms is

clea y oppressive,

Capilalism prev6nts g€nuin€ popular comm-

unicatlon and th€ ability to determine locally the ideas

and aclivili€s public resources should supporl, The

ideaol an abslract 'freedom ol speech'is promoled lo

disquise this. From the persp'ecUve of cultural demo-

cracy, the lssue is nol 'freedom ol speech' but

democratic agreement on lhe nalure ol public

oxpression, and democratic controloverlho means ol

public expression-

We must abolish any 'standards ol 6xcsllence'

which presume to be univ€rsal while being arlanged

and implementod by the rnost wsallhy, mobile and

educalsd'within society. The idea of an'officlal'sel of

slandards, and a set ol regllalions to administer

them, presents thos€ views which reflect, and favour,

the inte.esls ot one class as a 'balanced' and, by

implicalion,'nalural' cofimon-sense, to which all

groups and allclasses should aspir€.

The slrcngth oflhe ruling classos is thatthey are

an inlerlocking sel of interosls ralher than an

idenlifiable group ol peopl€, and thus lhe dominant

cullur€ which lhey have broughl into being, and which

it nudures and promotos, lunctions by fosle ng and

sustaining a sel ol beliefs and ideas which support

and legrl,mise lhose inlerests, Cultulal domocracy is a

way ol breaking up and replacing ihat imposed

culture with cultures which are open, accessiblo and

plural.

These d€mocratic cultures allow people to

develop and communjcate social meanings within

lhek own lives, and to participalo in the creation and

administralion of democracy, rather lhan swallow lhe

illusion ot democracy which capitalism foslers to

preserve itsell.

We musl build visible. flexible netwofts thal will

suppo the exchange ol lhese ideas, through a

growing number of conditional and contingent

alliances. We must ensuro lhat these n€two*s are

powe ul onough lo build democracy: cullural demo-

cracy. inouslrial democlacy, political derrocracy.

52 55

Many strands ot lhe aclivities thal comprise

cullural democracy already exisl- The loundalions of

many al iances have been laid. We believe the key

elgment in creating cullural democracy ts making

apparenl how and why some of its many component

strands ar€ operatlng and khy others need lo be

brought into play.

The leap lhat croales a social movemenl iiom

lhe praclice ol many groups begins wilh lhis

commilment to openlng up lh€ means by which we

determine our goals. We aim to make accessible our

polentiallo allY wilh olhers.

Languages are lhe means o! our expresson.

They are social lrameworks as much as schools or

facloies. We are all producers and allconsumers. As

culllral aclivisls we need to establish democraUc

contrclol the languages wo use, from English to road

signs.

Educalion, however il takes place, is lhe means

by which we learn 1o use oxpression. Wo believe

education shou d prirnarily be about ways oi thinking,

not about subjocts ot lholghl. lt should emphasise the

skllls of sharing exporience and ol applying what is

lea'ned. We nepd lo clarly how educariol is ong n-

ated, what is chosen lo be taught, how and by whom.

It is esse ntial that those decisions are democralic,

We need educalional resources, defned by

communilies, where anyone can share edLlcation,

?lher lhan instrlulions lor specilic a'oJps lo 'eceive

instruction, These resourc6s should not be restricted

by any arbltary crite a such as ags-

Our premise lor action emphasises translating

perconal experience inlo cultural activity, ralher ihan

th6 unilomily of defining wolk according to exterior

goals. Our intention is to do this democratically, by

negotialion not imposition. The equality we aim for

has no moaning if it is nol localed in ils social contsxls'

We seek to cr€ale social equalily in pa nerchip

wlth those with whom we wolk, Wg aim 10 address

bolh sp€ciiic oppr€ssions and their rools within th€

pgruasive domiflation of an int€mational capitalist

cullure,

We believe lhal codes ol aesthetics, and lheir

inteeretion, represent exterior siandards ol cultural

value, and need to be replaced by democratic

pluralism, We seek to delin€ and utilise democralic'

collaborative methods of working. Wilhout these

'collectivity' remains abstract and impractical'

We seek abolition of ownership of control, fiom

prolessional assumptions of ability to ih€ practice ol

copyright. Public conlrol ol the power to djsribut6

through decentralised m€ans needs lo be

established. The conlrol of any resource can bo

decentralised ' the challenge to us is lo irnplement

Lh s ourse'ves whereverwe possess resources

The implementatlon ol cullural democracy musl

nvolve developing ways ol overcoming lhe pitlalls lo

our organisation ol expression. Such pittalls separate

our social purposes trom actions Wilhout resolving

lhese diflicullies our activilies wil support lhe hidden

agendas of lhe dominanl culture We will enirench

rather than replace slandard values'

our work should not limit itself to expressions oftrtr[]ld,

@rpersona laste. W€ need to ask whelher our working

partnerships movo lowards the cr€ation of vocal,

visiblg and enfranchised minorities, in a movement of

allianc€s.

We need lo ensure thal lhe organisation ol

trades unions does not set up a primacy ot wo*erc'

needs over other socialneeds- We should not prevent

access to communication, We should socialise rotprof€ssionalise. Protecting our parUcular interests

should nol hinder th€ general dsmocratic

developmenl of public seruices, and the public

detemination ofwhal thoso services should be.

Socialism ls not antitheljcallo management,lt is

the use of managemenl lor democratic ends. Politcal

activism is not confined to polilical paties: it occLtrs

through ihe generalion ot social markets which have

slilllargely unrecognised powels of change.

The women's movement is on€ powerful

demonstration ol a social market in which value is

made and exchanged, We need to develop the

management and organisational skills to exchange

between such specilc social markets.

We must wo rk logelher to build a iuture we can

call our own. The only alternative is no iuture, and

ihat is no alternalive.

The Shelton Trust is a democratic mombership

organisation thal has grown from wilhin the English

and Welsh community arts movement to €mbrac€ a

wide range of cultural activists h is ongaged in

campaigning on issu€s ol cultural democracy' at

both local and nalional levels

Members ol the Trust ar6 engaged in ths

formation of cultural alliances within lrades unions

education, broadcasling and 'lhe arts' They

participato in the development of the Trust's policies

and campaigning activities through local and

regional meeiings organised around specilic goals

and targets, They also havg access to lho Trust's

growing intormation nelwoft

The trust organises an annual conf€rence as

well as regular regional seminars ll publishes

Anolher Standatd sixlfi'es ayeat

ln th€ last €ighteen months the magazine has

included interviews with Sheila Rowbotham'Tony

wilson. Maur€en O'Farrell' Nabil Shaban' Geolf

Travis and Faroukh Dhondy h has included articles

on topics ranging fiom the use ol imagery during the

miners' strike to tho role ol women in lh€ cullural

workplace, irom the politics b;hind lh€ Video

Becordings Act to the history and praclico of

Oueenspark Book in Brighton'

Membership of the Shelton Tru$ cunently cosls

g1O p€r year' For lurther details ploas€ write to:

Membership, The Shelton Trust' The Old Tin School'

Collyhurst Road, Manchester M10'56

This l\,{anifesio was written tor th6 Shelon Trust,s

campaign lor culturald€mocracy, il was produced as aspecial issue of Another Standard. lt was launchedand discussed at a Conference h6td at SheffiojdPolytechnic on July 1zth and 13th, 1986.

The ideas in this manifesto evotved during thethree and a hati y€ars pr€ceding the Conier€nce. Theydeveloped as a pan ot the debate and discussion thalaross within the series ol regionajseminars organisedby lhe Shelton Trusi.

We would tike to thank phit Cope oJ Valley andVale CommunityArtswho started lhe balt rojtinq.

Th6 Conference was organised by workingparties comprising members and directorc of lhe Trusl.The working parlies were aslollows:

Th6 Organisers ofthe Manileslo were:

Owen Kelly: member of l\,lediumwave andaulhor of Communhy Anand The Stale.

John Lock: researcher with the DocklandsForum and a Labour Councillor in the London Boroldh

Karen Merkel: member of C!hural partnerships

and freelance researcher.

The rnanifesto was w lten collaboratively, Thefoilowing people contribuled at various slages lo thedilferenl d€lts:

Sheila H€nderson, Fod Henderson, F€ticjtyHarvest, Debra Beay, Hania Janiurek, Sue Burd, Frank

Boyd, Tim Applebee, Tammy B6dford, AndrewHoward,

Ths L4anilesto was designed and laid oul by

Andrew Howad, Hania Janiurek and Henry lles'

The illustrations in the manifesto are based upon

a series of pre-hispanic l,lexican Stamp designs- These

ceramic slamps were used on textiles' banners and as

a form of symbolic folk modicino They formed a

signilicanl pad ol many social and religious riluals ln

many ways they conslituted lhe pinting presses and

the means ol public communicalion in a civilisation

based more around imageslhan words

The Sh6lton Trust would lik6 to thank Frank

goyd ol Cultural Pannorships for organising a crash

course in compute sed typesetting,

The Organisers ol tho Conlerence proglamms

and adminisl€tion wore:

Tim Applebee: lecturer in Drama al Bradfod

and llkley Community Collegs and lree lanc6 Theatre

Director.

Sybll Burgess: lreelance adminislrator and

researcher.

Sylvla King: msmber ol Jubilee Communily Arts

and singet and P€rlormer'

The Shelton Trust is grateiul to all those who

spoke on the conlerence panels and chaired

wo shops and discussions We would also like to

thank alllhe groups and organisations who participated

in the displays and exhibitions

Th€ Shelton Trusl would like to thank all the

indjviduals and organisations who provided the support

work throughoutthe conference ln particular, we would

like lo thank those who organised lh€ crcche and the

stewardinq.59

The organisers of ths Conferonce Enter_

tainmenls w€re:

Jon Shafiockststudent of Communily Studi€s atBradford and llkley Community Co ege.

Mik€ Mcoarthy: actor-member of SheltjotdPopular Theatre and freelance ih€atre djroctbr andperformer,

The Sh€lton Trust would tike to thank all of tbeperformerc and musicians for providing lhe conlerenco

entsrtainnrent,

Tho organisors ofth€ Design and publicitywere:

Tammy B6dford: momber of Va ey and ValeCommunity Arts, administralor.

Brandan Jeckaon: member of JubileeCommunity Ans, video mak6rand dosigner.

Andr€w Howard: work€r at lslington BusCompany_, p nter and designer.

Phlllp Sky: worker at U-print, Chapter ArtsCenlre, printer and designer.

The o$anis€rs of the linancesw€r€:

Pam cill: worker at Derby CommunityPhotography, photographer.

Anna Potten: memb€r of Mobile Ans, freelanc€

visual designer in Hampshke.

Gary Wihshtre: wo*sr at The Btock projoct,

Communily Educationalist.

The Trust would tike to lhank the following

organisations who hav€ given time and resources

freely:

Jubilee Community Ans

lslinglon gus Company

Cultural PartnershiPs

Bradford and llkl€y Community Collogo

chapter vidso Projoct

Communily Ans Wo*shoP

Vallsy and Vale Communily Arts

The Shelton Ti.l6l is grateful to thosg Reglonal

Ans Associalions, Trades unions and Local Authoritiss

who olf€red bursa es to assist people 10 attond tho

conlerence. Ws would liketo thank allth€ organisations

and instilutions who gavs donalions and financial

support.

The Shglton Trust is slighlly suppodsd bythe Arts

Councll ol Great B tain.

6fl60

Book ListOther titles f rom ComediaNo, 33 WOMEN, MEDIA, CBlSlSr Femininity and Oisorder bv N4 chde tvtatiera

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No. 32 PHOTOGRAPHIC PRACTIC€Si Towards a Dfierent thaoeed'led bV Stev e Bezenc€ne1f3 95 paperb6ck, 110 50 hardback

No,3l UNOEFSTAINSiThe Sens6 and Seduclion ot Adve.tsingby Ksihy Myerst5 95 p6perb6ck, ar2 00 hardback

No, 30 BOYS FROM THE ELACKSTUFF: The Makino of TV Dram.by Bob Mr

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No, 2a FOUFTH RATE ESTATE-An analomy of Fteei St.eet bV Tom Ba stowa3 95 pap€rback, al0 95 hardbac[

No. 27 IHE YEAFS OF TFE WEEK bv Patroa Cockburnf6 95 paperba.( on y

No. 26 TEACHING THE MED A by Len Maslermana5 95 paperbacl, fl2 00 h6rdback

No,25 MAKING SENSE OF THE MEDTA A to-pad media srudies course bvfo y Co! den, ..rohn fart ev and T h O'S! tvdr425 paperback onry

No. 24 TELEVISION IVIYTHOLOGIES-Stars, Shows and Signsedrt€d bv Len Masr-orm.it3 95 paperback, tl0 50 hardback

No, 23 COMMUNITY, ART AND THE STATE-a diffe.ent prescriptionby Ow€. Ke rv

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ilo, 22 FEAOING BY Nul,48ERs-conremporarv publishing and popular fictionbv K€n Worpolef3 95 paperba.k, e10.50 hardback

No. 2l INTEBNATIoNAL IMAGE MAFKETS-in s€arch of an tlternarivepersp€ctive o\ A'ra.d lva'learr Micl€le Malteld'r ano xd!ie'D€lcount4 95 papetbad tl2 00 h€rdbrcr

No, 20 SHUT uP AND LISTEN: Wom€n 6nd local radio a view iiom th€ insidg

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t{o, 19 THE BRITISH tvlEDlAr A guide tor'O' and'A' l€vel studsntsbv Moyra Grantfl 75 paperback onlv

No. tg PRESS, RADIo AND TELEVISION-An int'oduction to the m€dia

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No, 17 NINETEEN EIGHTY_FOUF in 1984: Autonomv control and Communicaiion

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No. 1a TELEVISING'TEBROFlSlvt': Polilicsl violenco in Popular cultu'e bv

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No. 11 WHAT'S THIS CHANNEL FO{U)R? An anernative report€drred bv Srmon Blanchard and Davd Moreva3 50 paperback, a9 50 hardback

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