– an Ideology is a Coherent Set of Beliefs And

8/14/2019 an Ideology is a Coherent Set of Beliefs And

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An ideology is a coherent set ofbeliefs and thoughts about

politics and government Three most common in Americaare conservative, liberal, and

moderate


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stress that people should be responsible forthemselves and should not rely on governmentintervention

favor free-market solutions to problems rather

than having the government regulate business favors lower taxes Social Conservatives makeup a powerful wing

of the conservative movement

Support government action on social issues Pro-life Pro-prayer in school Anti-drug


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believe that government should be used toremedy social problems and economic

inequalities support government regulation of the

economy support government efforts to redress past

social injustices (affirmative action) strictly enforce separation of church and

state Pro-choice


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make up the largestportion of the Americanpublic

as of 1993, nearly half ofall Americans identified

themselves asmoderates there is no coherent

ideology


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People are not well informed aboutthe issues facing government, and

they may have contradictoryattitudes

The least informed are the least

likely to participate in politics.


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The US has always been a nation

of immigrants

America is becoming more andmore diverse all of the time

Minority groups have assimilatedmany basic American values, suchasthe principle of equality
http://www.mixedmediawatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/untitled.jpg


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Three Great

Waves ofImmigration

N

O

RT

H

W

E

S

T

E

R

N

E

U

R

O

P

EA

N

S
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SOUTHERN &

EASTERN

EUROPEANS
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HISPANICS & ASIANS


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America has long been considered amelting pot, but many people nowspeak of a new minority majority

They feel that America will eventually ceaseto have a white majority

It is estimated that all the minority groups

combined should pass the 50% mark by themiddle of this century


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The regional shift

over the last 50 years, much of the growth ofAmericas population has been centered in theSouth and the West movement TO Sun Belt

states such as Florida, California, and Texas FROMrust belt states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, andMichigan

Process of reapportionment occurs every ten

years, causing a massive change inrepresentation of states New York has lostabout 1/3 of its Representatives over the last 50years.

Demographic changes areassociated with political changes


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Fastest growing age group in America iscitizens over 65

By 2020, there will be only two working

Americans for every person over the age of 65

*Gray Power strong coalition of the

elderly voting against programs that

would take money and benefits awayfrom them


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Political Socialization Process through which a person acquires

knowledge, a set of political attitudes, and

forms opinions about the political systemand other social issues

Only a small portion of this process isformal learning, informal learning is muchmore important


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family important because of its monopoly on

two crucial resources in the early years time and emotional commitment

although many children like to think ofthemselves as independent minded,you can fairly accurately predict theirpolitical leanings by knowing the

tendencies of their parents


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mass media referred to as the new parent television, without a doubt, is the

most common source of politicalinformation recent studies have attributed the

lack of political knowledge of the

youth to their media consumptionhabits older people pay moreattention to the news than youngerpeople


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SchoolsGovernments throughout the

world use schools as anattempt to instill acommitment to the basicvalues of their system


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Aging increases ones politicalparticipation and the strength of their

party affiliation Political behavior is to some degree a

learned behavior

Governments largely aim theirsocialization efforts at the youngbecause ones political orientationsgrow firmer as one grows older


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Public opinion is whatAmericans believe (andthink they believe) aboutpolitics and public policy.

Fluctuates over time President usually has

the greatest success inshaping public opinion in

the area of foreignpolicy during times ofnational crises, publicopinion and support forthe President usually

increases


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Intensity how strongly people feelabout a particular issue

Stability public opinion on issueschanges over time

Efficacy the degree to which people think

that they can change government


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education level

better educated tend to be betterinformed, more likely to vote, and aremore tolerant of opposing views thantheir uneducated counterparts

race/ethnicity racial and ethnic groups that tend tohave lower income levels tend to bemore liberal than other Americans

Blacks and many Hispanics are morelikely to support liberal socialprograms


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religion Jews and African-American Protestants

are generally the most liberal of religious

groups Catholics tend to be liberal, but many areconservative on social issues

Devout white Protestants tend to be

more conservative (especially in theSouth, where white Protestants whoattend church regularly are among thestrongest supporters of the GOP)

gender women are more liberal than men


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Public opinion polling was first created by GeorgeGallup in 1932

Polls rely on a sample of the population group to be measured is called the population pollster takes a random sample

key to accuracy of opinion polls is randomsampling

there is always a certain amount of risk ofinaccuracy involved, known as the sampling

error proper techniques must be followed toremain within the margin of error

typical poll of about 1000 to 1500 has a samplingerror of + or 3 percent
http://www.nndb.com/people/354/000099057/george-gallup-2.jpg


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Most polling today is done on the phonewith numbers selected throughrandom-digit dialing

used by the media to project electionwinners before most votes havebeen counted

criticized in presidential elections

because the media may actuallydeclare a winner before the polls haveclosed on the West Coast


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Polls have revealed time and time againthat the American public has a dismallylow level of political knowledge

Less than half of the public can name theirrepresentative in the House ofRepresentatives

14% of Americans in a 1998 survey could

not even find their own country on aworld map


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Americans have many different ways toparticipate in politics, butvoting inpresidential elections is the most common

form of participation The US has a participatory political culture

(participation is not required), only 49%

voted in the 1996 election, and 67% in 2000. running for office
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Conventional these are the widely accepted modes of influencing

government voting

trying to persuade others ringing doorbells for a petition

Most adult Americans, when participating in politics,will vote in an election, but only a minority of peoplewill do more than that.

Unconventional activities that are oftendramatic, such as protesting, civildisobedience, and even violence


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In the US, participation is a class-based activity citizens of a higher socio-economic statusparticipate more than others

Minority groups are below average in terms ofpolitical participation

When blacks, Hispanics, and whites of the SAMEeducations and incomes are compared, theminorities participate more in politics

Documents

– an Ideology is a Coherent Set of Beliefs And