Race & Class

http://rac.sagepub.com Book reviews : The Technology of Political Control By C. ACKROYD, K. MARGOLIS, J. ROSENHEAD and T SHALLICE (London, Pelican, 1977) 320pp 1.25
Tony Bunyan Race Class 1977; 19; 217 DOI: 10.1177/030639687701900221 The online version of this article can be found at: http://rac.sagepub.com

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subordination. While the privatization of only under certain historical conditions, all societies must organize the reproduction of their labour force, and it is by trying to understand the way the needs of reproduction are articulated with those of production that we shall have the basis for understanding the changing forms of womens subordination. London OLIVIA HARRIS
womens

theory of

domestic work

occurs

The Technology of Political Control By C. ACKROYD, K. MARGOLIS, J. ROSENHEAD and T SHALLICE (London, Pelican, 1977) 320pp £1.25
Subversion at home, the enemy within, has become a major preoccupation for bourgeois politicians and state planners as the economic recession extends into yet another year. For whatever external challenges it faces capital must always make sure its base at the centre is secure. This book looks at the response of the British state to this situation. In the nineteenth century the ruling class covered the country with a network of army garrisons. However, the ruthless suppression of the working class that followed then is no longer on the agenda except as a last resort. Now the emphasis is on pre-empting working-class initiatives and shifting the boundaries of what are held to be legitimate political freedoms (the right of workers to picket is currently under attack). Informed by the experience of its colonial wars and the eight-yearold war in Northern Ireland, Britain has developed some of the most sophisticated means available for controlling political action. Riot control equipment, interrogation methods, surveillance technology, ways of coping with political prisoners and computerized intelligence on a whole population are among the areas dealt with. Moreover, Britain has turned this expertise to good advantage by becoming one of the leading exporters of low-level policing technology. These new techniques have been designed not to kill but to control, without the apparent use of force. The wooden bullet (reinforced with a metal core) developed for use in Hong Kong became the rubber bullet in Northern Ireland. But people have been killed and blinded by rubber bullets. So alongside the technology
news management (psychological operations in military jargon) to suppress, deny or excuse such accidents. Counter-insurgency techniques for urban situations not only inform the military in the six counties; they are part of standard trainto plan for a at confrontation on the ing for the British army widespread Downloaded from http://rac.sagepub.com UCL Library Services on August 27, 2009 mainland. Joint police-military operations and the surveillance of all
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and trade union activity is now routine in Britain. The most thought-provoking section of the book sets out the possible futures for Britain (and other advanced capitalist countries) in the face of a prolonged crisis. The authors suggest that fascism is unlikely to arise in Britain because the National Front (the only overtly fascist party) does not have mass support. Nor, more importantly, does it have the backing of any significant section of capital. Similarly, a military coup is ruled out because for many years the British military establishment has recognized the need to be seen to be acting under formal political direction. The authors see the strong state as the most likely direction for this country. They suggest that although the formal front of liberal democracy will be maintained, the real power will increasingly rest with the state agencies. While it is possible to agree that a military dictatorship is unlikely and that a strong state is on the cards, the authors analysis is weak on the political ideology that would legitimate such a state. The books analysis of fascism looks for exact parallels between the historical form of German fascism and political developments in Britain today But racism, the rise of the National Association for Freedom and the shift to the right of all the main political parties indicates that a strong state with a fascist ideology could be quite compatible. The form and content of fascism can vary more than the authors allow for The fascism of Germany of the 1930s may come to look very primitive besides the fascistic ideology of late capitalism - one that will be more subtle and long lasting precisely because it will not overtly raise the flag of fascism.

political

London

TONY BUNYAN

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