Political Culture and Ideology
Applying the Principles of the Declaration of Independence
Major Themes of the Declaration of Independence
Among these rights: LifeLibertyPursuit of happiness
Self evident truths
Human equality
Natural rights
Purpose of gov’t
Measure of Justice
Right of revolution
Limits to theright of revolution
To secure rights
Consent of the governed
Whenever any form of gov’t is destructive of the security of natural rights
Prudence: Long-established gov’ts shouldn’t be overthrown for “light and transient causes”
Experience: Men are more disposed to suffer while evils are sufferable than to right themselves
All men are created equal
We hold these truths to be self-evident
They are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights
Political Culture• A general set of Ideas, attitudes and beliefs• Shapes a region’s politics• Political Cultures in the US may identify with certain
principles in the Declaration of Independence• Political culture sometimes confused with ideology• Most communities in the US participate in at least one of
the following:– Traditionalism– Individualism– Moralism
TraditionalismBasic features Associated region Advantages Disadvantages
•Strong attachment to long-established institutions•Preference for traditional ‘modes and orders’•Suspicion of change•Family legacies
The “Old South”:South CarolinaNorth CarolinaVirginiaTennesseeGeorgiaMississippiAlabamaLouisianaTexas
StabilityPredictabilityLaws and customs tend to remain constant
InflexibilityLack of social mobilityTolerance of corruption in the public sectorHostility to reform Fatalism
Examples:“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”“You can’t fight city hall.”Uncontested electionsPolitical Dynasties (Bush, Thurmond, Moncrieff, Kennedy)
IndividualismBasic features Associated region Advantages Disadvantages
•Strong belief in self-reliance•Preference for individual and independent action; free enterprise•Suspicion of public institutions•Resistance to regulation•“The Self-Made Man”
The “Old West”:WyomingTexasColoradoNew MexicoArizonaNevadaMontanaNorth DakotaSouth Dakota
OpportunityPrivacyRecognition of individual effortsAccountability
IsolationLack of community supportIntolerance of public sector involvementTolerance of corruption in the private sector, provided one isn’t caught
Examples:“You’ll get my gun when you pry it from my cold dead hands.”“You’ve got nobody to blame but yourself.”Entrepreneurs, independent contractors“Caveat emptor”
MoralismBasic features Associated region Advantages Disadvantages
•Strong belief in community, “commonwealth”•Preference for formal community action•Suspicion of private institutions and interests•Strong regulatory presence
“New England”:MassachusettsNew HampshireConnecticutMaineNew YorkPennsylvaniaAlso prevalent in the Pacific NW and in capital cities
CommunityAccountabilityActive social support structures“safety nets”
•Intrusiveness•Tolerance of corruption in the public sector if it serves the “moral duty” of serving the commonwealth•Inaction unless initiated by community officials•High public debt; high taxes
Examples:“Did you bring enough for everybody?”“We’re from the government and we’re here to help you.”Social Security, social welfare programsPublic education programs
Political Culture v. Ideology
• Political Culture• A set of general
attitudes, ideas and beliefs
• Broadly informs and shapes a region’s politics
• Ideology• A set of specific
attitudes, ideas and beliefs
• Provides or advocates a coherent plan for social, political, or economic action
Examples of ideologies• Political ideologies
– Libertarianism– Liberalism– Conservatism– Anarchism– Socialism– Fascism– Communism– Communitarianism– Statism
• Economic ideologies– capitalism– communism– globalism– protectionism– Keynesianism– monetarism– Market fundamentalism
• Social ideologies– Tribalism– Ethnocentrism– Nationalism– Feminism– Multiculturalism– Supremacism
What ideology Is
• A set of specific ideas, attitudes and beliefs
• Provides or advocates a coherent plan for social, political, or economic action
• Plan is consistent with, and is explained in terms of, the ideas, attitudes and beliefs held
What ideology is not:• Ideology is not political culture
– Traditionalists are not necessarily conservatives– Liberals are not necessarily moralists
• Ideology is not partisanship– Democrats are not necessarily liberal – Republicans are not necessarily conservative
• Ideology is not a policy position– E.g. Abortion
• advocates are not necessarily libertarian or liberal • opponents are not necessarily conservative or libertarian
– E.g. Immigration• “Open border” advocates are not necessarily libertarian globalists• “Closed border” advocates are not necessarily conservative ethnocentrists
Comparative Ideology 1: Left and Right Wings
Origins in the French National Assembly
Motto of the French Revolution: Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité
(liberty, equality, brotherhood)
Revolutionary Advocates of Liberté and Egalité, opposing the ancien régime (the Old Order) sat
on the left side of the room
Advocates of Liberté and Fraternité, sympathetic
to the ancien régime, sat on the right side of the room
This distinction grafted onto the American Congress in the early
19th Century
Left and Right: The Political SpectrumThe most common comparative model of ideological preference in the US
Left Wing Right Wing
Liberalism ConservatismCentrismSocialismCommunism Statism Fascism
• First suggest ed in Jerry Pournelle’s Doct oral dissertation in 1964• Appeared in Meltzer, Albert and St uart Christie. The Floodgates of Anarchy. (London: Sphere Books, Lt d. , 1970)• Seeks t o address limitations of the Political Spectrum• Describes t wo independent dimensions:
– Mor al: Ind iv idualis m to Collec tiv is m– Ec onomic: Capita lis m to Collec tiv ism
• Clar ified f or American audiences in 1971 by David Nolan– Ec onomic Fr eedom v. Economic Contr ol– Pers onal Freedom v. Soc ial Contro l
• Favored by t hose whose ideologies do not fit well wit h the Polit ical Spectrum, especially libertarians• Widely used by online political act ors, pundits & campaigners
Comparative Ideology 2: The Political Compass
?
Limits of the Political Compass• Equates policy positions with ideology in their
tests (See the Nolan Quiz)– Identifies attitudes on “personal” and
“economic” issues– Does not identify organizing principles or the
general purpose of government• Ill-equipped to distinguish moderates from
extremists– communists from welfare liberals – anarchists from libertarians – fascists from conservatives
• Does not distinguish one kind of “centrist” or “moderate” from another
• Fails to identify some known ideological positions
– Communitarianism– Anarcho-communism– Anarcho-syndicalism– Nazism (with its fascist rhetoric and anarchist
means)• Unable to account for real linkages within its
framework– liberal-leaning conservatives – conservative-leaning liberals
• Assumes liberals and conservatives are opposites
Comparative Ideology 3: Ideological Space
• Suggested by Steven Kautz in 1995: “enduring controversies regarding the nature of popular government give rise to three distinct strains:
– liberals (who love liberty)– democrats (who love equality)– republicans (who love virtue)”
• Problems with Kautz’ formulation– Order more fundamental than virtue
• Political “virtue” depends on the political order it inhabits– Kautz’ vision clouded by the American partisan/ideological debate
• “Liberal” has different meanings inside and outside the US• “liberal” is an ideology• “democrats” and “republicans” are coalition political parties in the US
• Alternative principles of ideological preference– Liberty– Equality– Order
“Ideologies…map the political and social worlds for us. We simply cannot do without them because we cannot act without making sense of the worlds we inhabit.” Michael Freeden, Ideology: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford UP, 2003.
Liberty, Equality, Order• Widely held political principles
– Regardless of expressed ideology– Held in different proportion by different ideological adherents
• Ideologies can be identified by different proportional attachment to or rejection of these three principles – Suggests measurability– Attachment to: positive ideology– Rejection of: negative ideology
• May be used to describe an ideological map with three axes– Liberty– Equality– Order
LEO Space Three axial principles (Dimensions)
LibertyEquality Order
Six levelsDescribe distance from ideological
centerCentristModerate IdeologueHard-LinerRadicalExtremist
Ideological Regions in LEO Space
1. L+E+O+ (Standard Ideological Preference)
2. L-E+O+ (Anti-libertarian)
3. L+E-O+ (Anti-egalitarian)
4. L-E-O+ (Anti-libertarian and Anti-egalitarian)
5. L+E+O- (Anti-establishmentarian)
6. L+E-O- (Anti-communitarian)
7. L-E+O- (Anti-libertarian and Anti-establishmentarian)
8. L-E-O- (Universal Opposition)
• Most ideological preferences found in only 1st region
LEO Made SimplePrinciple Moderate Ideology Radical or Extreme IdeologyCentrist Ideology
Liberty
Equality
Order
Libertarian Centrist
Liberal Centrist
Conservative Centrist
LibertarianLeft LibertarianRight Libertarian
Liberal (US), Labour (UK)Liberal EgalitarianLiberal CommunitarianConservative Liberal
ConservativeLibertarian ConservativeConservative CommunitarianLiberal Conservative
AnarchistAnarcho-CommunistAnarcho-Syndicalist
SocialistCommunist
StatistFascist
Other Ideologies in LEO
• Communitarianism– Equal parts Equality and Order– Liberty subordinate
• The Reagan Coalition– Equal Parts Liberty and Order– Equality subordinate
• Thomas Hill Green’s Welfare Liberalism– Equal Parts Liberty and Equality– Order subordinate
Critique of the LEO Model• Advantages
– Identifies a wider range of ideologies than either Spectrum or Compass– Suggests linkages between ideologies– Renders ideological claims testable– Distinguishes mere negative opposition from true preference– Predicts accusations of extremism by opponents– Independent of policy position– Independent of partisan assumptions
• Disadvantages– Complexity – Abstraction– Potentially awkward or unfamiliar ideological nomenclature– Posits potentially absurd ideological possibilities– Still unable to explain Nazism (fascist rhetoric, anarchist means)