Political Science- Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Political Culture

Political culture- a set of values and beliefs about government that are shared by the people.

American political culture gives people a sense of community, security, unity, togetherness… Our political culture is our ideas that support democracy.

Concepts of Democracy:
1. Majority rule, minority rights- majority rules, but at the same time the rights of the minority must be protected.
2. Equality- everyone is equal under the law.
3. Private property- ownership of property is protected by the law- you can own property and do whatever you want with it.
4. Individual freedoms- my personal freedoms will be protected:
a. Civil liberties
b. Religious protection
c. Freedom of the press
5. Compromise- allows for different thoughts to combine and form public policy to benefit you.
6. Limited government- the powers of the government are restricted by the will of the people and law.

These principles shift over time, for example, during Bush’s term in office (war of terror), the government’s powers were expanded.

Political socialization- process by which you and I develop our political identity.

How do you develop your political identity? The process starts early on. It allows you to learn political facts, political ideas and form ideas of your own. Although the process varies, people are exposed to a combination of influences that shape their ideas.

Who shapes your political ideas?
1. Family.
2. School- they teach patriotism, structure of government… They also encourage political participation.
3. Group affiliation- labor unions, professional organizations… provide a common bond for people.
4. Demography- all kinds of demographic factors such as race, religion, gender and income effect your political participation.
5. Mass media- the TV and internet.
6. Opinion leaders.
7. Events- for example, the Watergate scandal minimized people’s trust in the government, and 9/11 inspired people.

Public opinion- how people think about politics. This is shaped by political culture and political socialization. Public opinion can be analyzed through:
1. Intensity of the opinion.
2. Stability of the opinion.
3. Distribution- shape of the area when graphed.

Consensus- when there’s an agreement on the issue.

Divisive opinion- when public opinion is divided into many strong views.

Measuring public opinion-

It’s very difficult to do so. The most reliable system is with a poll. Businesses, governments and political candidates all use polls. In the US, early polls were called straw polls- you ask the same question to a bunch of people. One example of when the straw poll made a disastrous error- in 1936, the Literary Digest announced that Alf Landon was going to win the presidency and not FDR. Then, FDR won by a landslide and it was so embarrassing. When they researched their error, they realized that they got all of their information from telephone listings and car registrations. In those days, only a select few had phones and cars. Additionally, this information was gathered very early on.

Modern polling-

This began with George Gallup- he figured out a scientific method for polling:
1. Sampling should be of a cross section of all of society. It must be represented by the general population.
2. Preparing valid questions- make sure that the question is clear, fair and unbiased.
3. Controlling how the poll is taken- make sure that the person you are polling knows what you are talking about. Make sure that your body language doesn’t skew their opinion.
Sometimes polls are taken by phone, in person or through the mail.
4. Analyzing and reporting results- you must say how you got your results. You must mention your sampling errors and say when the poll was taken.

Ideology- set of beliefs:

Political ideology- consistent set of political beliefs. People’s political ideology changes over time.
1. Radical- you favor rapid, fundamental change. Sometimes, people don’t mind using violence to impact that change. They want extreme change.
2. Liberal- support. They want the government to be actively involved in social welfare, civil rights… They want peaceful change.
3. Moderates- they fall between liberal and conservative. They are usually tolerant of other people’s views and are not extreme.
4. Conservative- promotes limited government in economics- fell that the government should be heavily involved, there should be no handouts. They support traditional values and a traditional lifestyle. They want an active role of government in security. They aren’t so into change.
5. Reactionary- people who want to go back to the old ways.