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Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005
Chapter 4
THE STRUCTURAL FOUNDATIONS OF
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AND
POLITICS
Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005
“B-1 Bob” Learns About His District• After nine consecutive terms, in 1996
Republican Congressman Bob Dornan lost to Democrat Loretta Sanchez.
• Dornan had not changed his platform: staunch support for more military spending, and attacks on immigrants, gays, feminists, and liberals.
• Why did he lose?• Changing Demographics: California’s 46th
District shifted from mostly white middle class to working class and minority in composition.
Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005
Growing Diversity
• Immigration• Nativism
Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005
Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005
Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005
Changing Location
• From urbanization to suburbanization• Effects of population movement from
rural areas to cities and from cities to suburbs
• Steady population movement to the west and south (the “Sun Belt”) as employment opportunities shifted
Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005
Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005
Changing Jobs and Occupations
• Industrial Revolution• Rise of blue-collar employment• Rise of white-collar employment
Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005
Income, Wealth, and Poverty
• Stagnation in living standards• The angry middle class• The fall and rise of poverty
– concentrated among racial minorities and single-parent families
– consequences: crime, drug use, disintegration of families
Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005
Income, Wealth, and Poverty
• Rising inequality in income and wealth
• Implications for democracy: political equality undermined
Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005
The Triumph of the Industrial Corporation
• Numerous small and competitive enterprises before the Civil War
• After Civil War, economy increasingly industrialized and concentrated in giant enterprises
• Aside from a serious setback due to the Great Depression, the American economy and corporations grew impressively through the 1960s.
Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005
The Temporary Fall from Grace
• 1970’s-1980’s: rate of U.S. economic growth began to fall behind W. Europe and Japan
• Consequences:– wages of blue-collar workers
devastated– rise of protectionist sentiments
Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005
Globalization and the American Economy
• American economy rebounds in 1990’s• New global economy
– integration of much of world into single market and production system
– U.S. corporations as dominant actors • scandals• mergers
– No decrease in inequality in America
• Will globalization slow?
Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005
The United States in the International System
• 19th Century : isolationism• Late 19th / early 20th centuries:
America’s growing economic power brings global influence and increasingly turns its attention abroad
Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005
The United States as a Superpower (I)
• World War II thrust the United States into a position of leadership.
• Within a decade of World War II, the United States stood as the unchallenged economic, political, and military power among the Western nations.
• Conflicts with the Soviet Union: Cold War• Implications of America’s superpower
status
Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005
The United States as a Superpower (II)
• 1980’s-1990’s: dramatic changes in global political, military, and economic systems
• Soviet Union’s collapse leaves the U.S. as the world’s only military superpower.
• However, America’s military superiority does not translate into diplomatic success.
Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005
The Foundation Beliefs of American Political Culture
• Competitive individualism: People are naturally competitive, always striving to better themselves in relation to others.– Americans tend to believe that an
individual’s fate is tied to his or her own efforts.
– Americans endorse the idea of equality of opportunity, but reject the idea that people should have equal rewards.
– Competitive individualism is not common in most other modern capitalist nations.
Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005
The Foundation Beliefs of American Political Culture
• Private Property and Free Enterprise– Americans tend to believe in the
importance of private property and the efficiencies of the free market.
• Theoretical influences:– John Locke– Adam Smith
Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005
The Foundation Beliefs of American Political Culture
• Distrust of government: Government must be limited in its power and responsibilities.– Closely associated with the idea of
individualism – Concern that a powerful government is
likely to threaten individual rights– Belief in limited government is not
common in most other modern capitalist nations.
Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005
The Foundation Beliefs of American Political Culture
• This set of ideas about individualism, the free market, and limited government is known as Classical Liberalism.
• Most Americans favor private consumption over public services.
• Most citizens in other rich democracies believe that extensive and high-quality public services are part of the good society.
Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005
Citizenship and the Nature of the Political Order
• Democracy — one of the foundations of the American belief system, despite non-democratic features of American history
• Freedom and liberty — at the top of the list of American beliefs, and more strongly honored than elsewhere
• Populism — hostility of the common person to concentrated power (both political and economic), and the powerful
• Piety — Americans are much more religious than people in other rich democracies
Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005
Structural Influences on American Politics
• Structural factors greatly influence political outcomes
• Currently, four structural factors are especially important:– the threat of terrorism– the emergence of the U.S. as the world’s
single superpower– rapid technological change– changes in the demographics of the
American population