Chapter Four American Political Culture. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.4 | 2 What is Culture? It’s different than this kind

Chapter Four

American Political Culture

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4 | 2

What is Culture?

• It’s different than this kind of “culture.”


How should we think about Political Culture?

Political Culture????


How to think about Political Culture:

• Big Comfortable Couch

• On it (in it?) sit The Constitution, Federalism, Elections, etc.


What are the components ofPOLITICAL culture?

• Symbols• Language• Values and Beliefs• Norms


Who wrote about Political Culture?


Alexis de Tocqueville

• Political culture • A. Alexis de Tocqueville on why

democracy could take root in the U.S.– 1.No feudal aristocracy; minimal taxes; few

legal restraints– 2.Westward movement; vast territory provided

opportunities– 3.Nation of small, independent farmers– 4.“Moral and intellectual characteristics”—

today called “political culture”


de Tocqueville


Definition coming up…


Political Culture

• Political Culture: A distinctive and patterned way of thinking about how political and economic life ought to be carried out

• For example, Americans generally believe more strongly in political than in economic equality


What are some of the unique parts of the American Political Culture?


American Political Values

• 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


Questions About Political Culture

• How do we know people share these beliefs?

• How do we explain behavior inconsistent with these beliefs?

• Why is there so much political conflict in U.S. history?


Where do these values come from?What is the source?


Sources of Political Culture

• American Revolution was essentially over liberty—asserting 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


Review some basic economic values in the American Political Culture:


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


If we add those economic ideas to the general ideas Americans have about the

political culture, we can effectively compare the United States political culture to that of other countries…


American Political Culture

• Americans tend to assert their rights• Emphasize individualism, competition,

equality, following rules, treating others fairly but impersonally

• Some other countries put more emphasis on harmony and equality


Table 4.3: Attitudes Toward Economic Equality in America and Europe


What role does religion play in American Political Culture?


Religion and Politics

• Religious beliefs have played an important role in American politics

• Both liberals and conservatives use the pulpit to promote political change

• Candidates for national office in most other contemporary democracies rarely mention religion; drastically different in the U.S.


The Culture War

• The cultural clash in America is a battle over values

• The culture war differs from other political disputes

• The culture conflict is animated by deep differences in people’s beliefs about morality


Two Cultural “Camps”

• Orthodox: morality is as important, or more, important than self-expression; morality derives from fixed rules from God

• Progressive: personal freedom is as important, or more, important than tradition; rules change based on circumstances of modern life and individual preferences


Differences with other political disputes:

• Money is not at stake• Compromises are

almost impossible to arrange

• The conflict is more profound than other issues

• What are some of the issues?




So What?

• arrests

• protests

• bombings

• shootings

• firings

• court cases

• campaign issues


How Important Is the Culture War?

On Government and Politics:

• Does it have an impact?

• Should it have an impact?

• Does it have the wrong impact or the right impact?



Mistrust of Government

• There is evidence that mistrust has increased since the late 1950s

• Causes: Watergate, the Vietnam War and Clinton impeachment

• (in the 70’s-80’s trust was lower than in the 50’s, but closer to the historical norm)

• Public confidence is likely to ebb and flow with circumstances

• (public confidence in political institutions has gone down while confidence in other institutions has remained unchanged or declined)


Figure 4.1: Trust in the Federal Government, 1958-2002

University of Michigan, The National Election Studies.



Civic Duty and Competence

• Civic duty: a belief that one has an obligation to participate in civic and political affairs


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

– External efficacy: belief that system will respond to citizens


Figure 4.3: Changes in the Sense of Political Efficacy, 1952-2000

University of Michigan, The National Election Studies.


Political Efficacy

• Do you believe you have the capacity to understand and influence political events?

• What are you doing about it?

• What are you doing on Thursdays?

• Political Science Club meets Thursdays…


http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/PF_New%5C462006/PF_1980907~Tolerance-Posters.jpg


Political Tolerance

• A minimal level of tolerance is crucial to democratic politics

• Most Americans support tolerance in the abstract

• Most Americans would deny these rights in specific cases


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


Time for a TEST !!!

Documents

Chapter Four American Political Culture. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.4 | 2 What is Culture? It’s different than this kind