Pragmatists, joiners and belongers: Democratization and the culture of mass politics in Spain.

Abstract

The reconstruction of past mentalités is so flawed an enterprise that we will never know for sure what portion of the de-ideologization of Spanish politics represents "objective" change and what portion reflects the demystification of stereotypes associated with the black legend of Hispanic zealotry. The softening of the antagonisms between left and right has occurred amid unprecedented prosperity and a massive transformation of the class structure of the country; it also reflects a lesson about the hazards of conflict without quarter and the benefits of compromise, learned at great cost.