Transcript Chapter 4 - Effingham County Schools

Chapter Four
American Political Culture
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Culture
 Politically, there are three main differences among countries:
constitutional, demographic, and cultural.
 Culture is very important when it comes to politics and
gov’t. However, it is the most difficult to analyze.
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What is Culture?
 According to Webster’s culture may have the following meanings:
 the act of developing the intellectual and moral faculties especially by
education
 enlightenment and excellence of taste acquired by intellectual and aesthetic
training
 acquaintance with and taste in fine arts, humanities, and broad aspects of
science as distinguished from vocational and technical skills
 the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that
depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to
succeeding generations
 the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious,
or social group ; also : the characteristic features of everyday existence (as
diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time
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Political Culture
 Political Culture: A distinctive and patterned way of
thinking about how political and economic life ought to be
carried out
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Modern Democracies with
Different Political Cultures
 Most modern democracies have vastly different political
cultures--why?
 Demographic differences (religion, ethnicity, population, etc.)
 Historical development of individual countries plays a large role
in the development of class consciousness
 Differing ideas of the proper role of government
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American Political Values
 When it comes to the American view of politics there
are at least five important elements:
 Liberty – rights
 Equality – equal vote; equal chance to participate and succeed
 Democracy – government is accountable to the people
 Civic duty – take community affairs seriously and become involved
when possible
 Individual responsibility – individuals responsible for their own
actions and well-being
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Questions About Political Culture
 How do we know people share these beliefs?
 There is no exact way to prove that all Americans hold the
above characteristics in the same regard.
 However, studies and polls infer that these values are held by
many Americans.
 How do we explain behavior inconsistent with these
beliefs?
 It is a fact that people act contrary to their professed beliefs.
 Besides values, self-interest and social circumstances also
shape behavior.
 Why is there so much political conflict in U.S. history?
 Political values may be irrelevant to specific controversies.
 Not every person’s perception of the values mean the same
thing.
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Beliefs About Economics
 Americans support free enterprise, but support
some limits on marketplace freedom
 Americans believe in “equality of opportunity” but
not “equality of result”
 Americans have a widely shared commitment to
economic individualism
 What are the roles of welfare and civil rights in
this situation? (See p.80)
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The Civic Role of Religion
 Americans are more religious than most citizens in
European democracies
 Religious views greatly affect politics:
 1730-1740s, the First Great Awakening eventually led to the
colonist’s break with English rule
 Both liberals and conservatives have used the pulpit to
promote political change:
 1950s-1960s, Civil rights movement was led by black religious
leaders
 In the 1980s and 1990s, conservative Christian groups (Moral
Majority and Christian Coalition) became a strong political force
in all levels of politics
 See pgs.82-83
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American Political Culture
 Americans tend to assert their rights
 Emphasize liberty, individualism, competition, equality,
following rules, treating others fairly but impersonally
 Some other countries put more emphasis on harmony and
equality
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Civic Duty and Competence
 Civic duty: a belief that one has an obligation to participate
in civic and political affairs
 Civic competence: a belief that one can affect government
policies
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Sources of Political Culture
 American Revolution was essentially over liberty—asserting
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rights
Widespread (not universal) participation permitted by
Constitution
Absence of an established national religion made religious
diversity inevitable
Family instills how we think about world and politics
Not a high degree of class consciousness
The Culture War
 The cultural clash in America is a battle over values
 The culture war differs from political disputes
 The culture conflict is animated by deep differences in
people’s beliefs about morality
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Two Cultural “Camps”
 The idea that there are two broadly defined social classes
in the U.S. was first developed by James Davison Hunter.
 Orthodox: morality is as, or more, important than selfexpression; morality derives from fixed rules from God
 Progressive: personal freedom is as, or more,
important than tradition; rules change based on
circumstances of modern life and individual preferences
 See pgs.85-86
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Mistrust of Government
 There is evidence that mistrust of gov’t officials has increased
since the late 1950s
 Causes:
 Watergate scandal, the Vietnam War, the Clinton impeachment,
and the Iraqi War
 Public confidence is likely to ebb and flow with
circumstances
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Figure 4.2: External Political Efficacy Index, 1952-2004
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Political Efficacy
 Political efficacy: citizen’s capacity to understand and
influence political events
 Internal efficacy: confidence in one’s ability to understand
and influence events
 No major changes since the 1950s-1960s
 External efficacy: belief that system will respond to citizens
 Drastically declined since the 1960s
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Political Tolerance
 A minimal level of tolerance is crucial to democratic politics
 What is tolerance? According to Webster’s:
 sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or
conflicting with one's own
 the act of allowing something
 the allowable deviation from a standard
 Most Americans support tolerance in the abstract; however,
most Americans would also deny these rights in specific cases
 See p.89
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How Very Unpopular Groups Survive
 Most people do not act on their beliefs
 Officeholders and activists are more tolerant than the general
public
 Usually there is no consensus on whom to persecute
 Courts are sufficiently insulated from public opinion to
enforce constitutional protections
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