People and Politics

Political Culture

• Political culture is a distinctive and pattered way of thinking about how political and economic life ought to be carried out.

Five Elements of the American view of the political system

• Liberty• Equality• Democracy• Civic Duty• Individual Responsibility

Liberty

• People are free to do as they please as long as we do not hurt other people

• Liberty over authority• Freedom over responsibility

• Americans are preoccupied with rights• Rights over Duties

Equality

• Political Equality• Equal treatment under the law• One man one vote• Equal chance to hold public office

• Economic Equality• Equal opportunity• Not Equal results• Social background, race,, religion, and gender

should not limit opportunity to achieve to the best of our ability

Democracy

• Government of the people, by the people, and for the people

• Government officials should be accountable to the people

Civic Duty

• Civic duty is the belief that one has an obligation to participate in civic and political affairs

• People ought to take community affairs seriously• People ought to help out when they can

Individual Responsibility

• Individuals are responsible for their own actions and wellbeing

• A persistent commitment to the individual

• Concern for preserving individual freedom of choice and what if any limits

• Limits generate intense conflict

Other American Democratic Values

• Power to the People

• Democratic Consensus

• Justice and Rule of Law

• Nationalism, Optimism, and Idealism

Political Ideology

• Ideology – One’s basic beliefs about power, political values, and role of government

• Beliefs that arise out of education, economic, and social conditions and experiences

• It includes the views that people have about how government should work and how it actually works

• Links values to policies• People can disagree on ideology but share a

political culture

Ideologies

• Contemporary Liberalism• Belief in the positive use of government to bring

about justice equality of opportunity• Preserve rights of the individual and private

property• Government should intervene into the economy to

remedy defects in capitalism• Government should provide against inadequate or

deficient healthcare, housing, and education

• Generally, believe in affirmative action, worker’s safety and health protections, tax rates that rise with income, and union’s right to organize and strike

• Believe in progress and change• Trust government programs

• Conservatism• A belief limited government ensures order,

competitive markets, and personal opportunity• Private property and belief in enterprise are central

attributes of conservatism• Keep government small, especially national

government, except in national defense• Believe in strong leadership institutions, firm laws,

and strict moral codes to ensure social order• Believe in individual responsibility• Believe change in moderation

• Socialism• An economic and government system based on

public ownership of the means of production and exchange

• Socialism has been combined with democracy – Democratic Socialism

• Socialism and totalitarian governments combined is simply referred to as Totalitarian Socialism

• American Socialism• There are a few examples – favor

» Expanded role for government» Nationalize certain industries» Institute public jobs program» Steeper tax burden on the wealthy» Drastically cut defense spending

• Environmentalism• An ideology that is dominated by concern for the

environment but also promotes grass-roots democracy, social justice, equal opportunity, nonviolence, respect for diversity, and feminism

• Associated with the so called “Green Movement”

• Libertarianism• An ideology that cherishes individual liberty and

insists on sharply limited government, promoting a free-market economy, a noninterventionist foreign policy, and an absence of regulation in the moral and social spheres

• Opposition to most all government programs• Massive cuts in government spending• Abolish government agencies – FBI, CIA, and

regulatory agencies• Oppose participation in the UN

• Make war only if attacked• Decriminalization of drugs• Abolish income tax• Withdraw American troops from abroad

Public Opinion

• The distribution of individual preferences for, or evaluation of, a given issue, candidate, or institution within a specific population

• Distribution means the proportion of the population that holds a particular opinion

• The framers of the Constitution intended to give the people an active voice in governing

• The framers also wanted to insulate the government from the shifting whims of ill-informed public opinion

• Methods of measuring public opinion• Political party organizations• Interest groups• The media• Scientific polling

– Three steps» Selecting a sample» Presenting carefully worded questions» Interpreting the results

Where do we get our public opinions and values?

• The process by which we develop our political attitudes, beliefs, and values is called political socialization

• Starts in childhood» Children learn the content of our culture in childhood

and adolescence but reshape it as they mature

• Socialization lays the foundation for our political beliefs , values, ideas, ideology , and partisanship (party preference)

• Nationalism is a common element of socialization

• The sources of our views are varied due to our pluralistic political culture

• Political attitudes may originate in religious, racial, gender, ethnic, or economic beliefs and values

• We form our attitudes in groups• Family• Schools• Social Organizations

• Everyone is exposed to the mass media• The media acts as agents of socialization• Our choice of media source is selective and people often

choose sources they agree • Often the media influences what we think about but not

always what to think