POSC 1000
Introduction to Politics
Russell Alan Williams
PART TWO: POLITICAL PARTICIPATION &
BEHAVIOR
Unit Eight: Political Socialization and Culture
(March 18 and 20)
Required Reading: MacLean and Wood, Chapter 8.
Outline:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Introduction – Political Culture
Political Socialization and Participation
Changing Values?
The Role of the Media
Changing Technology
1) Introduction:
“Political Culture”: Widely held set of attitudes, beliefs
and values that underpin any political system.
Specific to each social setting
Assumed to impact politics & public policy
Different than political ideologies . . .
E.g. Conservatives and Liberals may have different views
about specific public policies, but in a specific social setting
they may share a broader political culture
E.g. In the United States, they share:
•
•
Support of the Rule of Law
Commitment to pluralistic participatory democracy
What kinds of political culture are there?
Almond and Verba – The Civic Culture (1963)
Parochial - Politics is distant and abstract for citizens – people
act in a disinterested way
Subject - People are aware of political events but they believe
they have little control over outcomes
Participant – Citizens are aware of political events and believe
they should have an active role in choosing public policies
Different states have different mixes of these values – E.g.
The United States is more “participant” then Canada
• Yet, demographically the two countries are so similar, so
why different political cultures?
Ideas are controversial – there are many alternative systems
of classification
Core aspects of political culture
a) Democratic values:
•
E.g. Anglo-American world expects high level of
participation
b) Views of governments and politicians:
•
E.g. Anglo-American countries more negative
– Attitudes towards incumbent governments
c) Political interest and knowledge
•
E.g. Can vary from one community to another
2)Political Socialization & Participation:
“Socialization”: Process whereby individuals act in a social
manner; creation of social and political authority and rules
to regulate behavior and thus permit operation of social
units
Or: Process by which values, political ideologies and
political culture are transmitted to citizens.
May explain why political cultures are different
Mechanisms:
Parties and political system
Education system
Governments
Mechanisms:
Families? Considerable debate
about families . . .
• The Catholic voter hypothesis 
• More impact on Political
Culture than Political
Ideologies
– E.g. “Political Efficacy”:
Belief individuals have on
whether they can effect
what governments do
Media !!!!!
Socialization . . . Example – the “Turnout Crisis”
Voter turnout lower AND declining in Canada
Canadian Federal elections (1945-2000):
Turnout very low as a % of population in Canada
Socialization . . . Example – the “Turnout Crisis”
Most noticeable amongst young voters
Perceived importance of voting by age cohorts
(68+) (58–67) (48–57) (38–47) (30–37) (25–29) (21–24) (18–20) Total
Essential
40.6
42.9
48.8
37.6
36.2
28.8
22.0
27.6
35.4
Very important
49.3
40.8
34.4
36.5
32.2
37.1
38.4
42.4
37.4
Somewhat important
6.5
7.6
12.0
20.1
26.4
26.2
31.0
21.8
20.6
Not at all important
2.9
5.4
4.0
5.2
4.7
7.5
7.1
8.2
5.7
Don't know/No answer
0.0
3.3
0.8
0.6
0.5
0.4
1.6
0.0
0.9
89
0.25
184
250
348
401
267
255
170
2 014
N=
V=
Producing a lost generation of voters . . . ?
Question: Why don’t young people vote?
Explanations:
Wisdom – young voters see “strategic realities”
1.
E.g. Political Efficacy
2.
E.g. Electoral system problems
3.
E.g. Relates to possible “Generational Effect”: Effect that a
different generation can have on its members attitudes – will
persist over time – people are socialized by “peers”
E.g. Current youth still participate, just less likely to vote . . .
“Life Cycle Effect” : Age effects one’s attitudes and behavior
E.g. People become more conservative as they get older
This is not new - young people never tend to vote!
Explanations:
Socialization – Youth are not “trained” to
vote
Role of media?
Decline of political parties?
Decline of civic culture?
E.g. “Bowling Alone” hypothesis
(Putnam)
Many suggest our political culture is
changing – socialization is not same
on participation
3) Changing Values:
Political cultures and ideologies change over time . . .
Materialism  Post-materialism
Ideologies were traditionally “materialist”: focused on
economic benefits for different groups
Postmaterialist Theory: Political values changing
because younger generations grew up in era of prosperity
since WWII
Less concerned about economic security
More highly educated
Increases support for Postmaterialist Values:
Human rights, civil liberties etc
Environment
Evidence?
Question: Does this explain the “turnout crisis”?
E.g. Party politics and platforms not responding to
postmaterialist values that well????
4) The Role of the Media
The Media or “Fourth Estate”: Traditionally,
organizations not directly involved in politics but
responsible for informing the public
1) “Libertarian Perspective”: Media should be free from
government regulation
2) “Social Responsibility Perspective”: Media has a
responsibility to the public’s “common good”
Free media = bad information
=Need for regulation and “public broadcasters”
•
E.g. CBC
Perspectives on the media:
3) “Dominant Ideology Perspective”: Media
promotes values of the powerful who benefit
from status quo
• E.g. Noam Chomsky
Media in liberal democracy is
“propaganda”
=Need for wider interpretations
E.g. Ownership concentration - E.g. “Rogers
Communications”
•
•
Risk:
Traditional Media:
– 3 National TV Networks (CHUM, Sportsnet and TSC)
– 62 Magazines (5 of the 10 top selling)
– E.g. MacLean's
– 35 Cable TV services
– 29 Radio stations
– 8 of Canada’s largest Daily newspapers
New Media:
– Simpatico
– Rogers AT&T Wireless
– 240+ Video stores in Canada
Most information provided by few sources
E.g. Ideological bias
Partisan political bias . . . The
“Editorial Line”: the idea that some
media outlets have persistent biases
Propaganda and state control
The “news” we don’t hear . . . .
• Examples? - Stories on Media
concentration!
E.g. “Conflicts of Interest”
Do media outlets protect their
advertisers?
6) Changing Technology & the Media:
How has the internet/social media/digital communication
changed this?
Two views:
It promotes a more libertarian view of media impacts on
politics = more “voices” in politics (libertarian
perspective)
Changes little
Internet even more irresponsible (Social Responsibility
Perspective)
Internet just a different medium for same mass media companies
(Dominant Ideology Perspective)
7) For next time:
Unit Nine: International Politics and Foreign
Policy (March 25 and 27)
Required Reading: MacLean and Wood, Chapters 11
and 12.