Public Opinion, Political Ideology & Political Socialization

Ch. 11

POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION

• Complex process by which people acquire their political values

• Political Ideology - coherent set of beliefs about public policy

• Political socialization is how people acquire their ideology– Americans tend to identify themselves as Conservative,

Liberal, or Moderate

• Freedom (LIBERTY):

– Freedom of: the absence of constraints on behavior - freedom to do something (liberty)

– Freedom from: immunity from fear and want; the fight against exploitation and oppression

• Order:

– Preserving life and protecting property

– Social Order refers to the established patterns of authority in society and to traditional modes of behavior

• Equality:

– Equality of opportunity: Each person has the same chance to succeed in life

– Equality of outcome: Government must design policies that redistribute wealth and status so that economic and social equality are actually achieved

CONSERVATIVES (American)

• Higher value placed on freedom than on equality when the two conflict. Restrict freedom when threatened with the loss of order• limit size of government

(national)• decrease regulation of business• Pro-life• support school vouchers• freedom and tradition

LIBERALS (American)• Gov should promote

equality, even if some freedom is lost in the process, but who oppose surrendering freedom to government-imposed order• larger role for government• Increase regulation of

business• Increase gun control• Pro-choice

POLITICAL IDEOLOGY• Ideological Types in the United States also include:

– Libertarians: People who favor freedom over both equality and order

– Communitarians: People who favor equality and order over freedom

• The widely-shared beliefs, values, and norms that citizens share about their gov.

• Helps define the publics expectations towards the political process and its role in the process

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

Political culture is different from ideology because people can disagree on ideology, but still have a common political culture.

AMERICAN POLITICAL CULTURE• Democracy• Equality of opportunity• Individual liberty• Civic duty• Rule of law• Private property• Capitalism• Nationalism and exceptionalism

Equality

• Americans strongly support:• political equality• legal equality• equality of opportunity

• There is much less support for equality of results• social welfare less comprehensive than in other Western democracies

POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION

FAMILY

• #1 indicator of ideology

• More to do with ideology than party

RELIGION• Catholics and Jews more liberal on social and

economic issues than Protestants (WASP)• Religious differences make for political differences

– Social status – discrimination or minority position w/i society

• Christian Coalition

EDUCATION• More education (higher degree) = more

liberal

• Liberal education, professors, exposure, intellectual freedom

GENDER• Gender gap• Women reliable democrats since 60’s

– Shifted b/c of women’s liberation• Men identify more w/ Republicans

– Women: social– Men: military and economic

AGE

• Older people vote more conservative than younger votes and at a higher rae

SOCIAL CLASS

• “Blue collar” (Laborer) typically Democrat

• “White collar” (Businessmen) typically Republican

• New Deal coalition

RACE & ETHNICITY• Argument based on past policy• Agree on more issues than disagree• Blacks more liberal coalition than whites• Hispanics – Cubans more conservative; hardcore

Catholics more conservative, BUT immigration policy favors liberals

NEW DEAL COALITION

• Coalition of Democratic state party organizations, city machines, labor unions and blue collar workers, minorities (racial, ethnic and religious), farmers, white Southerners, people on relief, and intellectuals

REAGAN CONSERVATIVES

• White (WASP), socially conservative, attracted to social conservatism on issues such as abortion, Christian right, and hawkish foreign policy

• Reagan Democrats – voted for Carter, then hated Carter, fell in love with Reagan, then voted for Reagan and Bush Sr.

GEOGRAPHICAL REGION

• East and West coast – more liberal• Mid-West – more conservative• Urban – liberal• South: 1870s-1950s – Democrat “solid south” but tday

social conservatives (whites especially)• North more liberal

– Economic and social

SUNBELT

How Americans Participate in Politics

• Class, Inequality, and Participation

Figure 6.5