Wilson Chapter 4Political Culture

Objective

• Students will take notes and engage in a small group discussion in order to describe American Political Culture

Your First Political Memories

• What are your first political memories?• Describe what you remember:• How old were you?• Who was responsible for influencing you

politically?• Was the memory positive?• What political party do you identify with?

What influenced that identification?• What role does school/family have in your

political socialization?

What is “Political Culture?”

• A patterned set of ways of thinking about how politics and government ought to be carried out

• It includes our fundamental assumptions about how the political process should operate

What’s the difference between Political Culture and Ideology?

• Political ideology refers to a more or less consistent set of views on the policies government ought to pursue

• While culture is a much broader concept

What fundamental elements make up American Political Culture?

• Liberty- Highly important. Let people do as they please as long as they don’t hurt others

• Equality- to vote and chance to participate

• Democracy- government is accountable to the people

• Civic duty- Ought to take community affairs seriously

• Individual Responsibility-

How do we know these are our values?

• They are inferred from looking at the books we read, films we watch, speeches and political choices we make

• Foreign observers (Like de Tocqueville)• Opinion polls

If these values are important, how do we explain behavior inconsistent with them?

• Humans often behave in an inconsistent fashion with beliefs

• But belief acts as an agent of change, slowly forcing adherence to the value as people become aware of the inconsistency

• The “American dilemma”

Why is there so much conflict if we share a common culture?

• Values can be irrelevant to specific controversies

• Values can be inconsistent with one another – Equality of opportunity may mean curtailing personal liberty

• Americanisms

How does Political Culture affect our ideas about economics?

• We adopt the same five standards as with political systems.

• BUT: We are willing to tolerate more economic inequality

• WHY? Because we emphasize “Personal responsibility” and “Economic Individualism” we opt for “Equality of Opportunity” rather than “Equality of Results”

Who differs in this opinion?

• Civil Rights leaders and Women’s rights leaders often stress “Results” more than “Opportunity”

• WHY?

What role does Religion play in shaping Political Culture?

• Americans are more religious than other western democracies

• At least for non elites, Americans have become more religious over the last two decades

• Religion is attractive to Americans as much for civic significance as spiritual significance

Table 4.7: Religion in Industrialized Nations, 1990-1993

Table 4.8: American Beliefs about Faith-Based Programs

Where do we get our Political Culture?

• History:• American Revolution as a fight over liberty • Declaration of Independence enshrines

certain values• Thus Americans have a preoccupation with

the assertion and maintenance of rights• Americans also get from our history a

suspicion and mistrust of government

Figure 4.1: Trust in the Federal Government, 1958-2001

• Source: University of Michigan, The National Election Studies, (September 1999), table 5A.1, updated by Los Angeles Times, poll taken November 10-13, 2001.

Where do we get our Political Culture? cont’d

• The Constitution• The federal system with divided political

authority provided opportunity for widespread participation in politics

Origins of Political Culture, cont’d

• Religious Diversity with a dominant Protestant tradition• Led to and was a product of the

Constitutional prohibition of a state sanctioned church

• Protestant churches provided members with organizational experience as they are often organized and controlled by the members

• “Protestant ethic” motivates civic engagement

How is Political Culture Transmitted?

• The process of transmitting political culture is called Political Socialization

• Primarily by the family• Direct dissemination of values• Structure of the family

• Equality among family members• Greater freedom of children

Other means of Political Socialization

• Religious Institutions- Structure and transmission of values

• School- Through history and government classes and political perspectives of teachers and peers

• Media- TV, radio, newspapers and magazines

• Real Life Experiences- the primary influence on adults