Political Culture and Ideology

Applying the Principles of the Declaration of Independence

Major Themes of the Declaration of Independence

Among these rights: LifeLibertyPursuit of happiness

Self evident truths

Human equality

Natural rights

Purpose of gov’t

Measure of Justice

Right of revolution

Limits to theright of revolution

To secure rights

Consent of the governed

Whenever any form of gov’t is destructive of the security of natural rights

Prudence: Long-established gov’ts shouldn’t be overthrown for “light and transient causes”

Experience: Men are more disposed to suffer while evils are sufferable than to right themselves

All men are created equal

We hold these truths to be self-evident

They are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights

Political Culture

• A general set of Ideas, attitudes and beliefs• Shapes a region’s politics• Political Cultures in the US may identify with certain

principles in the Declaration of Independence• Political culture sometimes confused with ideology• Most communities in the US participate in at least one of

the following:– Traditionalism– Individualism– Moralism

TraditionalismBasic features Associated region Advantages Disadvantages

•Strong attachment to long-established institutions•Preference for traditional ‘modes and orders’•Suspicion of change•Family legacies

The “Old South”:South CarolinaNorth CarolinaVirginiaTennesseeGeorgiaMississippiAlabamaLouisianaTexas

StabilityPredictabilityLaws and customs tend to remain constant

InflexibilityLack of social mobilityTolerance of corruption in the public sectorHostility to reform Fatalism

Examples:“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”“You can’t fight city hall.”Uncontested electionsPolitical Dynasties (Bush, Thurmond, Moncrieff, Kennedy)

IndividualismBasic features Associated region Advantages Disadvantages

•Strong belief in self-reliance•Preference for individual and independent action; free enterprise•Suspicion of public institutions•Resistance to regulation•“The Self-Made Man”

The “Old West”:WyomingTexasColoradoNew MexicoArizonaNevadaMontanaNorth DakotaSouth Dakota

OpportunityPrivacyRecognition of individual effortsAccountability

IsolationLack of community supportIntolerance of public sector involvementTolerance of corruption in the private sector, provided one isn’t caught

Examples:“You’ll get my gun when you pry it from my cold dead hands.”“You’ve got nobody to blame but yourself.”Entrepreneurs, independent contractors“Caveat emptor”

MoralismBasic features Associated region Advantages Disadvantages

•Strong belief in community, “commonwealth”•Preference for formal community action•Suspicion of private institutions and interests•Strong regulatory presence

“New England”:MassachusettsNew HampshireConnecticutMaineNew YorkPennsylvaniaAlso prevalent in the Pacific NW and in capital cities

CommunityAccountabilityActive social support structures“safety nets”

•Intrusiveness•Tolerance of corruption in the public sector if it serves the “moral duty” of serving the commonwealth•Inaction unless initiated by community officials•High public debt; high taxes

Examples:“Did you bring enough for everybody?”“We’re from the government and we’re here to help you.”Social Security, social welfare programsPublic education programs

Political Culture v. Ideology

• Political Culture• A set of general

attitudes, ideas and beliefs

• Broadly informs and shapes a region’s politics

• Ideology• A set of specific

attitudes, ideas and beliefs

• Provides or advocates a coherent plan for social, political, or economic action

Examples of ideologies• Political ideologies

– Libertarianism– Liberalism– Conservatism– Anarchism– Socialism– Fascism– Communism– Communitarianism– Statism

• Economic ideologies– capitalism– communism– globalism– protectionism– Keynesianism– monetarism– Market fundamentalism

• Social ideologies– Tribalism– Ethnocentrism– Nationalism– Feminism– Multiculturalism– Supremacism

What ideology Is

• A set of specific ideas, attitudes and beliefs

• Provides or advocates a coherent plan for social, political, or economic action

• Plan is consistent with, and is explained in terms of, the ideas, attitudes and beliefs held

What ideology is not:• Ideology is not political culture

– Traditionalists are not necessarily conservatives

– Liberals are not necessarily moralists

• Ideology is not partisanship– Democrats are not necessarily liberal

– Republicans are not necessarily conservative

• Ideology is not a policy position– E.g. Abortion

• advocates are not necessarily libertarian or liberal • opponents are not necessarily conservative or libertarian

– E.g. Immigration• “Open border” advocates are not necessarily libertarian globalists• “Closed border” advocates are not necessarily conservative ethnocentrists

Comparative Ideology 1: Left and Right Wings

Origins in the French National Assembly

Motto of the French Revolution: Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité

(liberty, equality, brotherhood)

Revolutionary Advocates of Liberté and Egalité, opposing the ancien régime (the Old Order) sat

on the left side of the room

Advocates of Liberté and Fraternité, sympathetic

to the ancien régime, sat on the right side of the room

This distinction grafted onto the American Congress in the early

19th Century

Left and Right: The Political SpectrumThe most common comparative model of ideological preference in the US

Left Wing Right Wing

Liberalism ConservatismCentrismSocialismCommunism Statism Fascism