public opinion, political ideology & political socialization ch. 11
TRANSCRIPT
Public Opinion, Political Ideology & Political Socialization
Ch. 11
POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION
• Complex process by which people acquire their political values
• Political Ideology - coherent set of beliefs about public policy
• Political socialization is how people acquire their ideology– Americans tend to identify themselves as Conservative,
Liberal, or Moderate
• Freedom (LIBERTY):
– Freedom of: the absence of constraints on behavior - freedom to do something (liberty)
– Freedom from: immunity from fear and want; the fight against exploitation and oppression
• Order:
– Preserving life and protecting property
– Social Order refers to the established patterns of authority in society and to traditional modes of behavior
• Equality:
– Equality of opportunity: Each person has the same chance to succeed in life
– Equality of outcome: Government must design policies that redistribute wealth and status so that economic and social equality are actually achieved
CONSERVATIVES (American)
• Higher value placed on freedom than on equality when the two conflict. Restrict freedom when threatened with the loss of order• limit size of government
(national)• decrease regulation of business• Pro-life• support school vouchers• freedom and tradition
LIBERALS (American)• Gov should promote
equality, even if some freedom is lost in the process, but who oppose surrendering freedom to government-imposed order• larger role for government• Increase regulation of
business• Increase gun control• Pro-choice
POLITICAL IDEOLOGY• Ideological Types in the United States also include:
– Libertarians: People who favor freedom over both equality and order
– Communitarians: People who favor equality and order over freedom
• The widely-shared beliefs, values, and norms that citizens share about their gov.
• Helps define the publics expectations towards the political process and its role in the process
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
Political culture is different from ideology because people can disagree on ideology, but still have a common political culture.
AMERICAN POLITICAL CULTURE• Democracy• Equality of opportunity• Individual liberty• Civic duty• Rule of law• Private property• Capitalism• Nationalism and exceptionalism
Equality
• Americans strongly support:• political equality• legal equality• equality of opportunity
• There is much less support for equality of results• social welfare less comprehensive than in other Western democracies
POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION
FAMILY
• #1 indicator of ideology
• More to do with ideology than party
RELIGION• Catholics and Jews more liberal on social and
economic issues than Protestants (WASP)• Religious differences make for political differences
– Social status – discrimination or minority position w/i society
• Christian Coalition
EDUCATION• More education (higher degree) = more
liberal
• Liberal education, professors, exposure, intellectual freedom
GENDER• Gender gap• Women reliable democrats since 60’s
– Shifted b/c of women’s liberation• Men identify more w/ Republicans
– Women: social– Men: military and economic
AGE
• Older people vote more conservative than younger votes and at a higher rae
SOCIAL CLASS
• “Blue collar” (Laborer) typically Democrat
• “White collar” (Businessmen) typically Republican
• New Deal coalition
RACE & ETHNICITY• Argument based on past policy• Agree on more issues than disagree• Blacks more liberal coalition than whites• Hispanics – Cubans more conservative; hardcore
Catholics more conservative, BUT immigration policy favors liberals
NEW DEAL COALITION
• Coalition of Democratic state party organizations, city machines, labor unions and blue collar workers, minorities (racial, ethnic and religious), farmers, white Southerners, people on relief, and intellectuals
REAGAN CONSERVATIVES
• White (WASP), socially conservative, attracted to social conservatism on issues such as abortion, Christian right, and hawkish foreign policy
• Reagan Democrats – voted for Carter, then hated Carter, fell in love with Reagan, then voted for Reagan and Bush Sr.
GEOGRAPHICAL REGION
• East and West coast – more liberal• Mid-West – more conservative• Urban – liberal• South: 1870s-1950s – Democrat “solid south” but tday
social conservatives (whites especially)• North more liberal
– Economic and social
SUNBELT
How Americans Participate in Politics
• Class, Inequality, and Participation
Figure 6.5