The Pragmatics of Peremptory Assertion: An Ideological Analysis of the Use of the Word ‘Just’ in Local Politicians’ Denials of Politics

Abstract

New Labour’s Third Way philosophy, with its fervent critique of ideological politics, claims to be able to revitalize interest and participation in politics amongst the lay public. This article critically considers such claims by means of a detailed ideological analysis of interviews with English local politicians. Focusing on speakers’ tendency to deny or downgrade the political nature of their involvement in local politics, the recurrent occurrence of an assertion prefaced by the word ‘just’ is examined. On the one hand, this move performs local interpersonal work, implying that the preferred version is a reflection of the facts about self and, as such, has a rational/empirical basis. On the other hand, the operation of broader ideological constraints can at times be visualized, as if there is some underlying basis for the account which is beyond argument and consciousness. It is concluded that anti-ideological advocates of the Third Way are helping to constitute an era in which even official political representatives are unthinkingly negating their role.