Unit2 review

1
Unit 2 
American
Political Beliefs
and Behaviors

2
Political Culture
Political culture is a patterned and
sustained way of thinking about how
political and economic life ought to be
carried out.
Copyright © 2013 Cengage
Alexis de Tocqueville wrote
Democracy in America, a
profound analysis of our
political culture.
The Granger Collection

3
American Democratic Values
■ majority rule/minority rights:
although democracy based on majority
rule, minority rights must be
guaranteed
■ equality: equality of every individual
before the law and in the political
process
■ private property: ownership of
property is protected by law and
supported by the capitalist system

4
American Democratic Values
■ individual freedoms: guarantees of
civil liberties and protections against
infringements upon them
■ compromise: allows for the combining
of different interests and opinions to
form public policy to best benefit
society
■ limited government: powers are
restricted in a democracy by the will of
the people and the law

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Political Socialization
■ The process by which citizens acquire
a sense of political identity. It is a
complex process that begins in early
childhood and continues throughout a
person’s life. Political Socialization
allows a person to become aware of
politics, learn political facts, and form
political values and opinions.

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Agents of Political
Socialization
■ Family/Home: strongest when both
parents identify with same party
■ Schools: patriotism, government
function and structure, encourage
participation
■ Group Affiliation: provide common
bonds
■ Mass Media: inform the public and set
the agenda

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Agents of Political
Socialization
■ Demographic Factors:
■ occupation
■ race
■ gender
■ age
■ religion
■ region
■ income
■ education
■ ethnicity

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The Political System
■ Three Questions Concerning The
American Political System:
1. How do we know that the American people
share these beliefs?
2. How can we explain the existence in our
society of behavior that is obviously in
conflict with these beliefs?
3. Why has there been so much political
conflict in our history?

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The Persistence of Conflict
In the 1950s Senator
Joseph McCarthy of
Wisconsin was the
inspiration for the world
“McCarthyism” after his
highly publicized
attacks on alleged
communists working in
the federal
government.
Topham/The Image Works

10
The Economic System
■ Americans tend to support:
1.The “free enterprise system”
2.Government regulations that keep some
firms from becoming too powerful and to
correct specific abuses
3.“Equality of opportunity”, but not “equality of
results”

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Comparing America with Other
Nations

12Copyright © 2013 Cengage
Comparing America with Other
Nations
!
■ The Political System
■ The Economic System
■ The Civic Role of Religion
A chaplain offers a prayer at a
meeting of the U.S. Congress.
Though having such a chaplain may
strike you as violating the separation
of church and state,
the Supreme Court has upheld it on
grounds of “tradition.”
Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly/Alamy

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The Economic System
United States
■ Less likely to believe
in giving workers
equal pay
■ Less likely to favor
putting a top limit on
income
■ Ratio between the
income of an
executive vs. menial
worker: 15 to 1
Sweden
■ More likely to believe
in giving workers
equal pay
■ More likely to favor
putting a top limit on
income
■ Ratio between the
income of an
executive vs. menial
worker: 2 to 1

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The Civic Role of Religion
■ Average American compared to the average
European is more likely to:
1.Believe in God
2.Pray on a daily basis
3.Acknowledge clear standards of right and wrong
■ Religious people in the US:
1.Donate more money to charities than secular folks
2.More likely to give money and donate time to non-
religious organizations than secular folks

The Sources of Political Culture
■ Personal Liberty vs. Social Control
■ Class Consciousness
■ The Culture War
• Orthodox – a belief that morality and
religion ought to be of decisive importance.
• Progressive – a belief that personal
freedom and solving social problems are
more important than religion.

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Figure 4.2 Trust in the Federal
Government, 1958–2004
p. 90
Source: University of Michigan, The American National Election
Studies.

Source: Gallup Poll

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Mistrust of Government
!
Civil society is that collection of private,
voluntary groups that – independent of
the government and the commercial
market – make human cooperation
easier and provide ways of holding the
government accountable for its actions.

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Political Tolerance
!
In order for democracy to work,
citizens must have a political culture
that allows the discussion of ideas and
the selection of rulers in an
atmosphere reasonably free of
oppression.

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Public Opinion
■ A collection of shared attitudes of
many different people in matters
relating to politics, public issues, and
making of public policy. It is shaped
by people’s political culture and
socialization.

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Why Does Government Policy Often
Appear At Odds With Public Opinion?
•The Framers of the Constitution did not try to
create a government that would do from day to
day “what the people want.”
!
•They created a government for the purpose of
achieving certain substantive goals.

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Public Opinion and Democracy
The Framers of the Constitution created a
government to achieve certain goals:
!
“to form a more perfect Union, establish
Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide
for the common defense, promote the
general Welfare, and secure the Blessing of
Liberty.”
– Preamble to the Constitution

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Do We Really Know What The
Public Thinks?
•It is not easy to know what the public
thinks.
!
•A few simple, clear-cut and widely
discussed issues may allow for some degree
of certainty.
!
•But, with many lesser-known issues that
certainty may be missing.

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What is Public Opinion?
■ How Polling Works
• Poll
• Random sample
• Sampling error
• Exit polls
!
Students at Marist College in
New York call people in the state
with poll questions.
AP Photo/Jim McKnight

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Young Adults on Politics and Politicians
Source: Institute of Politics, The 17th Biannual Youth Survey on Politics
and Public Service, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard
University, Spring 2010.

■ Opinions by Four Christian Groups on Four Issues
Source: Adapted from Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, American Views on
Religion, Politics, & Public Policy, 2010, pp. 37, 41, and 46, and “Faith-Based
Programs Still Popular, Less Visible,” November 16, 2009, p. 2.

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■ Worship Service Attendance and the
Probability of Voting Democratic
(2000–2008)
Source: Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, American Views on Religion, Politics
& Public Policy, 2010, p. 85.

Source: Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, Gen Dems: The Party’s Advantage Among Young Voters
Widens, April 28, 2008.

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Cleavages in Public Opinion
!
■ Social Class
■ Race and Ethnicity
■ Region
Marco Rubio, the Hispanic son of exiles
from Cuba, is a conservative Republican
elected from Florida to
the United States Senate in 2010.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images News/Getty Images

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Political Ideology
■ Political Ideology - A more or less
consistent set of beliefs about what
policies government ought to pursue.
!
■ Mass Ideologies: A Typology
!
■ Liberal and Conservative Elites

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Ideology:
A Political Spectrum
■ radical: favors rapid, fundamental
change - willing to resort to extreme
■ liberal: promotes active government in
promoting individual welfare and
supporting civil rights, accepts
peaceful political and social change
■ moderate: falls between liberal and
conservative, may include some of
both, tolerant

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Ideology:
A Political Spectrum
■ conservative: promotes a limited
governmental role in helping
individuals economically, supports
traditional values and lifestyles, favors
active government role in defense,
approaches change cautiously
■ reactionary: advocates a return to a
previous state of affairs, willing to go
to extremes

Source: Adapted from
“Profiles of the Typology
Groups: Beyond Red and
Blue,” Pew Research Center
for the People and the Press,
2005.

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