Devolution of state functions to local bodies presupposes a rentier class of civic prestige.
Evidence
Self-government is an institution or a political and administrative usage which presupposes quite specific conditions: the existence of a social stratum which lives off rent, which by tradition is experienced in public affairs, and enjoys a certain prestige among the popular masses for its rectitude and impartiality (and also for certain psychological qualities, such as its ability to exercise authority with dignified firmness, but without haughtiness or arrogant detachment). It is thus understandable that self-government has only been possible in England, where the class of landowners, in addition to its condition of economic independence, had never been in savage conflict with the population (as happened in France) and had not had great corporate military traditions (as in Germany), with the separateness and the authoritarian attitude which derive from these. — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 2204
Categorization
Category: Causal Relationships
- DEFINE: Defines self-government as a specific institutional arrangement with class preconditions, distinguishing the English case from continental centralism.
- XREF: This class-based account of local governance connects to the toolkit’s theme of how ruling-class social position underwrites state-like authority — usable contrast against colonial administrative models the Islamophobia field critiques.