POLITICAL CULTURE CH 4
POLITICAL CULTURE 1
Bell Ringer
Which one could you live without? Why?
•
Majority rule/ Minority Rights
•
Equality
•
Private Property
•
Individual Freedoms
•
Compromise
•
Limited Government
Please get out your Unit 1 test – MC & FRQ
Unit 1 Test Review
Today we will …
Objectives




Define political culture.
List some of the dominant
aspects of political culture
in the U.S. and identify
influences.
List the sources of our
political attitudes.
Compare & contrast
economic systems – AP6.
Agenda

Unit 1 Test Review
American Political
Culture – slide notes
 Comparing Across
Countries – pair/share
data analysis
 Political/Economic
Ideologies - movie

Political Culture



Political Culture is the underlying set of values and
beliefs about politics & economic life
System of meaning for interpreting politics among a
given population
What do citizens think about:
Beliefs about authority
 Groups vs. individuals
 Liberty vs. security
 Necessary level of legitimacy
 The role/ independence of the political community


Why is it necessary to study more than a country’s
institutions?
American Political Culture


“Shared” set of values and beliefs
5 elements of the American view of our political
system:
 Liberty
 Equality
 Democracy
 Civic
Duty
 Individual Responsibility
Sources of American Political Culture

History: people came to
US for 2 reasons
1.
2.



Distrust of rulers/
authority
Religion
American Revolution
Constitution
Adversarial culture
Federalists v Democratic
Republicans
 Legitimized role of
opposition party

American Political Culture
 Majority rule/ Minority
Rights
 Equality
 Private Property
 Individual Freedoms
 Compromise
 Limited Government
Shared Set of Values
Alexis de Toqueville


Wrote Democracy in America – profound analysis
of our political culture
Tocqueville’s reasons why democracy would take
root:
 Abundant
and fertile soil
 Vast territory to acquire land and make a living
 No feudal aristocracy
 No
 Low
hereditary/ Aristocracy
taxes
 Few legal restraints
Role of Religion


America is the most religious industrialized country
Avg. American compared to avg. European:
1.
2.
3.

Believe in God
Pray on a daily basis
Acknowledge clear standards of right and wrong
Religious people in the US:
1.
2.
Donate more $ to charities vs. secular folks
More likely to give $ and donate time to non-religious
organizations than secular folks
Religion & Politics

Both liberals (Civil Rights movement) & conservatives (Moral
Majority, Christian Coalition) have used the pulpit
Beliefs about the Economic System

Generally Americans:
 Are
more willing to tolerate economic inequality than
political inequality.
 Favor equality of opportunity rather than equality of
results.
 Support common sense regulations and competition in
the marketplace.
 Willing to help those “truly” in need.
 Economic individualism & personal responsibility
Check for Understanding


How do we know that Americans share beliefs?
How can we explain the existence in our society of
behavior that is obviously in conflict with these
beliefs?
Political Tolerance

In order for democracy to work, citizens must have
a political culture that allows the discussion of ideas
& the selection of leaders in an atmosphere
reasonably free of oppression.
Culture War
The Culture War


Class consciousness: middle/lower class ideas vs.
those of the upper class
We generally believe the same things in America


“Ballot not Bullets”
So we end up fighting over moral issues

Orthodox- belief that morality & religions ought to be of
decisive importance, more than liberty


Evangelicals & many Protestants - “Religious Right”
Progressive – belief that importance of personal
freedom > morality

“Secular Left”
Check for Understanding

Which most accurately describes the orthodox view?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Morality is more important than self-expression, and
the rules vary with circumstances.
Personal freedom is more important than tradition,
and morality is based on unchanging rules from God.
Morality is more important than self-expression and is
based on unchanging rules from god
Personal freedom is more important than tradition
and the rules for morality vary with circumstances.
Trust in Government
Trust in the Federal Gov. 1958-2008
Check for Understanding
 What
are some general observations you can make
about American’s trust in government?
 What are the national trends from the mid-1990s to
the present regarding mistrust of the government?
Trust in Government



“American Malaise” - Jimmy Carter, Watergate,
Vietnam
People distrust the people in power, but not so much
the form of government
Trust was only high in the 1950’s/ 1960’s
Civil Society

Collection of private, voluntary groups that –
independent of the gov. & commercial market –
make human cooperation easier & provide ways of
holding the gov. accountable
Political Efficacy



Internal: participation
External: how government responds
Polls show most Americans think that politics and
government is too complicated for them to
understand.
 Government
cannot really respond to them
 People are not more “alienated” - they are more
realistic
Comparing Across Countries
External Efficacy
Table 4.2
Patriotism
Table 4.3
Equality of Results vs Equality of Opportunity
Table 4.4
Table 4.5
Religion
Table 4.6
Table 4.7
Think/Pair/Share



How does America
compare to other
countries?
(generalization)
Specific example(s)
that support your
generalization
Most surprising
factoid

External Efficacy


Patriotism


Table 4.3
Equality of Results vs Equality of
Opportunity



Table 4.2
Table 4.4
Table 4.5
Religion


Table 4.6
Table 4.7
Study of Political Culture in 5 Nations


Americans had strongest sense of civic duty &
civic competence (internal political efficacy)
Over 50% of Americans felt one should be “active
in the community”


Vs. Britain 30%, Germany 20%
US trust in government is lower than it once was,
but higher than other nations.

Americans know there are problems, but want policy
changes, not changes in the system.
Comparing Economic Systems

Sweden favors equality of results over equality of
opportunity, believed in giving equal pay and
setting a limit on incomes.
Closure



Explain Equality of Results vs. Equality of
Opportunity.
How does Religion impact American political
culture?
Homework: Complete questions for Chapter 5 &
prepare for quiz on chapters 4 and 5
Political Ideologies & Economic
Systems
AP6
Common Political Ideologies




Liberalism: Emphasis on political and Economic
freedom. Emphasis on public opinion.
Socialism: Accepts and promotes free market
principles, yet believes that the state should regulate
the economy and provide benefits in order to ensure
some measure of equality.
Communism: Values equality over freedom. Effective
resource allocation and economic and social equality.
Fascism: The state has the right and responsibility to
mold the society and economy & eliminate obstacles
(including people) that might weaken them. Devalues
individual freedom.
Economic Systems




Command Economy: Government owns almost all industrial enterprises
& retail sales outlets. Production goals set by a central government
(party-dominated), values equality, quotas and plans/directs production
and distribution.
Economic Liberalism: Free markets, freedom of the press, freedom of
religion, low or no tariffs on trade.
Free-Market Capitalism: Relies on profit motive and competition.
Mixed Economies: Market economy w/ significant control from the
government.

Social Welfare Capitalist System (UK)


Socialism Market Economy (China)


Europe: team oriented & emphasis on cooperation between management and
organized labor. Government = economic safety net. Government subsidies,
universal health care, day care, pensions.
Gradual infusion of market economy while still retaining state control
State Capitalism (Russia)
Economic Systems



Economic Systems
explained by cows
Commanding Heights
Ch 7 & 8
Chart:
 Command
 Socialist
 Capitalist
Communism vs. Capitalism Quotes
Read your quotes and use them to describe
Communism vs. Capitalism
JIGSAW
1.
2.
3.
1.
JIG Get with same reading folks to check your description.
2.
SAW Get with a different folk to compare quotes, choose 2 quotes
to compare and write our your comparison/ summary paragraph.
CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING: ONE
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COMMUNIST
IDEOLOGY AND CAPITALIST IDEOLOGY
Pew Research - Political Typology Quiz

Political Typology Quiz | Pew Research Center for
the People and the Press