Why the "Political Socialization" Paradigm Failed and What Should Replace It

Abstract

The "political socialization" literature of the 1960s promised a new understanding of politics, which has not been fulfilled. One major weakness was its conceptual framework: a functionalist view of politics, coyness about the state, an abstracted view of the person, and a confusion of human development with "socialization" or the acquisition of norms. The other major weakness was in research method. Formal standardized measurements based on sketchy understanding of the phenomena produced results of doubtful validity, and closed off inquiry rather than opening it up. Key issues were excluded: the phenomenology of children's consciousness, political practice, and the significance of social structure. The issues raised can be better studied in other frameworks: the social analysis of human development, the sociology of consciousness, and the politics of everyday life.