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Ideology and Public Opinion
20 October, 2008
Review:The American Political System
Designed to protect against majority rule and protect minority rights
Examples Viewed in comparative perspective
Nature and Acquisition of Opinions and Values
Process by which one acquires values and develops opinions is called socialization.
Agents of socialization Family and Friends School News media Lifetime Learning: new jobs, new friends, new
neighborhoods
Ideology
A package of ideas, a way of organizing one’s thinking about political issues and leaders. Anchored by core values that serve to structure other ideas
Liberal vs. conservative A core value that distinguishes them and influences their
positions on a variety of issues is whether government should actively promote individual equality.
Liberals [in the United States] favor active government intervention to promote equality of outcomes/results flat rate vs. regressive rate income tax vs. sales tax
Conservatives believe that government should be limited to ensuring equality of opportunities in economic matter. In social matters, however, conservatives favor a more expansive role for government
American Individualism
0 20 40 60 80
United States
Canada
Germany
Italy
France
Czech Republic
Ukraine
UK
Poland
Russia
Figure 4.2 Percentage saying they “completely agree” with the following statement: “It is the responsibility of the state to take care of very poor people who can’t take care of themselves”
Right vs. Left
Direction comes from French political tradition
Those who generally supported the policies of the monarch were seated to his right and those who proposed changes in the system were arranged to his left.
At the extremes individuals are extremely dissatisfied and want revolutionary change
Opinions about Federal Spending
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Liberal SlightlyLiberal
Moderate SlightlyConservative
Conservative
Incr
ea
se S
pe
nd
ing
Aids Research Crime Child Care
Source: American National Election Study (NES) 2002
Opinions about Federal Spending
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Liberal SlightlyLiberal
Moderate SlightlyConservative
Conservative
Incr
ea
se S
pe
nd
ing
War on Terror Environment
Source: American National Election Study (NES) 2002
Opinions about Federal Spending
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Liberal SlightlyLiberal
Moderate SlightlyConservative
Conservative
Incr
ea
se S
pe
nd
ing
Welfare Defense Public Schools
Source: American National Election Study (NES) 2002
Views of Ideological Groups
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Liberal SlightlyLiberal
Moderate SlightlyConservative
Conservative
Th
erm
om
ete
r R
atin
gs
Conservatives Liberals
Source: American National Election Study (NES) 2002
Views of Groups by Ideology
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Liberal SlightlyLiberal
Moderate SlightlyConservative
Conservative
Th
erm
om
ete
r R
atin
gs
Gays and Lesbians Femininsts Christian Fundamentalists
Source: American National Election Study (NES) 2002
Views of Institutions by Ideology
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Liberal SlightlyLiberal
Moderate SlightlyConservative
Conservative
Th
erm
om
ete
r R
atin
gsSupreme Court Congress
Source: American National Election Study (NES) 2002
Views of Interest Groups
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Liberal SlightlyLiberal
Moderate SlightlyConservative
Conservative
Th
erm
om
ete
r R
atin
gs
EnvironmentalistsBig Business
Source: American National Election Study (NES) 2002
Interpersonal TrustMost people can be trusted
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Liberal SlightlyLiberal
Moderate SlightlyConservative
Conservative
Per
cent
in A
gree
men
t
Most people can be trusted
Source: American National Election Study (NES) 2002
Distribution of Ideology over time
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
'72 '74 '76 '78 '80 '82 '84 '86 '88 '90 '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04
Conservative
Liberal
Moderate
Source: American National Election Studies (1972-2004)
Attitudes about Regulation
Opinion about Financial Bailout
Source: Pew Research, Oct. 2008
Issues in 2008 Election
Source: Washington Post
Who are the Liberals?
Poor Low Education Low Strata Occupation Minority Urban Jew, Catholic Democrats
Who are the Conservatives?
Wealthy High Education High Status Occupation White Suburban Protestant Republican
Red and Blue States(2004 Presidential Election)
The 2008 Election
Another Way of Looking at the Distribution of Votes
Culture War?
Fiorina argues that the ideological disputes that engage political elites and activists have little resonance among the American mass public
Ordinary 21st century Americans “are not very well-informed about politics, do not hold many of their views very strongly, and are not ideological” (p. 19).
Culture War?
Fiorina’s characterization of Americans as uninterested and non-ideological may apply very well to the large number of Americans who rarely or never vote.
However, it may not apply as well to regular voters, and it is voters whose opinions are of greatest concern to candidates and elected officials.
Distribution of Voters on Liberal-Conservative Issues Scale
Distribution of Non Voters on Liberal-Conservative Issues Scale
Percentage of voters donating money to a party or candidate by ideology
Polarization
Electoral competition in the United States now appears to be structured by ideology
The American public appears to be increasingly divided into two groups: the politically engaged, who view politics in ideological terms, and the politically disengaged, who do not.
