American Federal Government
American Political Culture
Political Culture
• Definition
A basic set of shared values, attitudes and
beliefs that differentiate Americans from
citizens of other countries
How are we differentiated?
Different founding principles to our western
European counterparts
City on a Hill
Characteristics of American
Political Culture
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Protestant Work Ethic
Equality of opportunity, not outcome
Individual responsibility
Mistrust of government & governmental power
Limited government
Religion and faith
Providence, abundance, and Manifest Destiny
Associationalism and civic duty
Common Beliefs
• Classical Liberalism - belief in individual rights,
limited government, representative government;
strong support for the Constitutional system as a
break upon simple majoritarianism.
• Progressive Liberalism - Changed economic
circumstances leads to increased government
power as necessary to protect liberty and equality.
American Political Culture
Compared
• High confidence in political institutions
• Lower confidence in people running
political institutions
• Religiosity
• Declining sense of political efficacy
Confidence in Institutions:
America and Europe Compared
90
83
86
84
85
77
80
69
70
Percent
60
US
Great Britain
50
Germany
40
France
Spain
30
20
10
0
Congress
(Parliament)
Courts
Press
Business
Armed
Forces
Church
Confidence in People Running
American Institutions
60
55
50
50
42
41
Percent
40
1966
29 29 28
30
1971-79
29
1980-89
23
20
19 20
19
22
18
16
16
1990-96
18 18
12
10
10
0
Congress
Supreme
Court
Federal
Bureaucracy
Press
Major
Companies
Religiosity:
The United States Compared
(World Values Study, 1990s)
Respondents who say they are a religious person
29
Sweden
48
France
Germany
54
55
UK
64
Spain
69
Canada
Mexico
72
US
82
0
10
20
30
40
Percent
50
60
70
80
90
Religion is Important in My Life
(Associated Press/IPSOS Poll, Summer 2005)
84
64
63
55
54
46
43
te
s
om
d
ni
te
U
ni
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d
Ki
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gd
ai
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Sp
U
So
ut
h
Ko
re
a
ic
o
M
ex
ly
Ita
y
m
an
G
er
ce
Fr
an
C
an
a
da
ia
37
st
ra
l
Au
86
80
St
a
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Religious Leaders Should/Should Not
Try to Influence Government Decisions
75
72
75
63
61
77
72
22
25
12
20
30
20
68
21
76
77
Should Not
Should
37
17
20
Ita
l
M y
So ex
ic
ut
o
h
Ko
re
a
U
ni
Sp
te
d
ai
Ki
n
n
U
ni gdo
te
m
d
St
at
es
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Au
st
ra
lia
C
an
ad
Fr a
an
ce
G
er
m
an
y
Percent (%)
(Associated Press/IPSOS Poll, Summer 2005)
But are we evolving?
• Substantive changes in the United States
over the last fifty years
–
–
–
–
Race
Gender
Population Migration
Change in type of employment
• What does it mean
Population Change in the US
1980-2000
Class in American Politics?
• Most Americans believe they are in the
middle class
– What is the definition? Gingrich vs. Clinton
• Tolerance for income inequality
• More of a predictor as for who is going to
be mobilized and vote than race, gender or
ethnicity.
Changes in U.S.
Occupational Structure
Changes in Where We Live
Race & Ethnicity
• Blacks/African-Americans
– migration, political protest, civil rights
– issue divisions
• Latinos/Hispanics
– diversity as a group
– low political mobilization
• exception? South Florida
2000 Presidential Vote
by Ethnicity
90
90
80
65
Percent (%)
70
54
55
60
50
42
41
35
40
30
20
9
10
0
White
Black
Gore
Hispanic
Bush
Asian
Gender in American Politics
• The Gender Gap
– a distinctive pattern of voting behavior
reflecting differences in views between men
and women
• Example:
--> Sexual Harassment in the workplace
– 24% of men say it is a serious problem
– 38% of women say it is a serious problem
(ICPSR /ANES 1992 pre/post election surveys)
Gender Gap in Voting:
2000 Election, Gore/Bush
60
54
53
50
43
42
Percent
40
30
20
10
0
Bush
Gore
Men
Women
Religion in American Politics
• Secularism and protest
• Values, culture, and moral issues
– abortion
• Rise or Demise of the Christian Right?
– The GOP connection
Number of Members
Membership in the Christian Coalition,
1989-95
1800000
1600000
1400000
1200000
1000000
800000
600000
400000
200000
0
1989
1990
1991
1992
Year
1993
1994
1995
Ideology: Moderates Carry the Day
50 States, 50 Cultures???
• While there are general ideological
principles that create American political
culture, there are also variations
• Certain areas of the country are distinctly
different than others
• Political scientists have attempted to
systematically categorize states
State Culture Typologies
• Moralistic States
– Rooted in New England, but they have spread
to the northern Midwest as well
– Higher belief in the public good, which can
take root in a number of different issues
– Town halls and meetings
– Civic participation
State Culture Typologies
• Individualistic States
– Rooted in the mid-Atlantic states and for the
most part it has remained in the east coast
– Culture of these states values material gain for
the individual
– Civic participation is not viewed as critical to
the success of government
– Laissez-Faire government is favored
State Culture Typologies
• Traditionalistic States
– Developed in the original southern states and
slowly crept as far as Texas
– Values a strong social hierarchy in which there
is a clear ranking of citizens
– Government is viewed as a protector of the
culture
– Policies protect the elite
So where does Texas fit?
• Texas would be categorized as a
traditionalistic state, but to do so would
minimize the legitimate differences
• Historically Texas state government has not
tolerated diversity and believes in upholding
agrarian principles
• Cultural differences within Texas
Introductory Themes and
American Political Culture
•Why does our system work so well?
•Political Power
Authority
Legitimacy
Conceptions of Democracy
• Democratic Centralism
• Direct Democracy
• Representative Democracy
popular sovereignty
citizen demands and government action
participation
deliberation
majority rule
Majority Rule: Good or Bad?
• No guarantee of good decisions
• Majority tyranny can threaten minorities
• Apathy toward politics
Who Really Governs?
• Different approaches
Marxist
Elitist
Bureaucratic
Pluralist