Book contents
- The Psychology of Radical Social Change
- The Psychology of Radical Social Change
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Foreword
- 1 Toward a Psychology of Revolution
- Part I Roots of Revolution
- 2 The Conservative Crowd?
- 3 Economic Inequality and the Rise of Civic Discontent
- 4 The Globalization-Revolution Paradox
- 5 From the Age of the Crowd to the Global Age
- Part II Evolution and Involution in Social Transformations
- Part III Representations of and in Revolution
- Index
- References
3 - Economic Inequality and the Rise of Civic Discontent
Deprivation and Remembering in an Irish Case Study
from Part I - Roots of Revolution
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 April 2018
By
Book contents
- The Psychology of Radical Social Change
- The Psychology of Radical Social Change
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Foreword
- 1 Toward a Psychology of Revolution
- Part I Roots of Revolution
- 2 The Conservative Crowd?
- 3 Economic Inequality and the Rise of Civic Discontent
- 4 The Globalization-Revolution Paradox
- 5 From the Age of the Crowd to the Global Age
- Part II Evolution and Involution in Social Transformations
- Part III Representations of and in Revolution
- Index
- References
Summary
When the Irish economy collapsed in 2007-2008, there were few protests. Yet, when the economy began booming once more in 2014 & 2015, there were various forms of civic unrest. This is the Deprivation – Protest Paradox. This chapter details two fundamental cultural psychological processes that can be used to understand this paradox. First, it elaborates classic relative deprivation theory to understand some of the dynamics of protest in the Republic of Ireland. This reveals the ways in which demonstrators expected to reap the benefits of an economic boom, having suffered harsh austerity beforehand. But this economic growth was experienced unequally – a minority of people benefitted from the recovery, which created frustration that manifested in civic discontent, particularly against a new tax on water. Second it applies theories of collective remembering to comprehend how protesting in Ireland is linked to historically overcoming social and political injustices. Connecting relative deprivation and collective remembering informs the ways in which social groups compare and orientate themselves to one another and decide on what is and is not fair in terms of economic distributions. The 2007-2008 financial crisis is located in historical context to illuminate the ways in which economic inequality changes over time and how this is connected to cultural values and social norms. This cyclical pattern is linked to the opening and closing of borders, and increased or decreased cultural and ethnic heterogeneity, which effects perceptions of perceived social injustices and the fairness of wealth distribution. From this case a new theory of unfair economy inequality and civic discontent is advanced.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Psychology of Radical Social ChangeFrom Rage to Revolution, pp. 29 - 53Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2018
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