The Difference Between France and Britain

The Difference Between France and Britain

Scholars from Aristotle onward have proposed that the characteristics

of society directly affect the nature of government. If we apply this

to Britain and France, we shall see that this proposal is definitely

true. The difference between the British and French cultures becomes

obvious when an assessment looks at their political systems, and each

of the 6 structures, and the full range of the political culture's

influence on each structure is understood.

Political socialization is the learning of your political culture; it

is the process of acquiring the values and beliefs of the political

system. Older generations pass on values and beliefs to the younger

generations, thus political socialization starts in the family. After

the family, it advances to the educational system, and it is the basis

of acquiring political culture. In Britain, the two most important

means of socialization are family and education. The family teaches

civic responsibility and class differences, although, unlike France,

these are moderated by British politics. The educational system

reiterates the class differences, but is not as elitist as in France.

As for France, the family, and education are the most important tools

of socialization. The French see the family as a haven, a refuge from

the outside world. It is the family that teaches religious and class

identity, but not a political party identity. However, they do learn

to mistrust outside authority such as the government. The educational

system helps separate classes and promotes a conflictual working class

consciousness, and lets society be divided, thus contr...

... middle of paper ...

...he executive branch appears to

maintain considerable power.

In analyzing the political cultures and institutions of France and

Britain, nothing became more evident that these two countries, due to

their unique political culture, have some similarities, but mainly

many differences in the 6 political institutions. To fully understand

the significance, and why it is necessary that every political system

must have each political structure, it's necessary to compare and

contrast the elements which create the different structures. Political

Culture defines each country's political institutions differently,

because no political culture is the same. This is necessary to

understand, because it shows us, that perception is everything in

politics. Politics is not just about structures and procedures, it is

about perception.