pearson education, inc. © 2005 chapter 4 the structural foundations of american government and...

Pearson Education, Inc. © 2005

Chapter 4

THE STRUCTURAL FOUNDATIONS OF

AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AND

POLITICS


“B-1 Bob” Learns About His District• After nine consecutive terms, in 1996

Republican Congressman Bob Dornan lost to Democrat Loretta Sanchez.

• Dornan had not changed his platform: staunch support for more military spending, and attacks on immigrants, gays, feminists, and liberals.

• Why did he lose?• Changing Demographics: California’s 46th

District shifted from mostly white middle class to working class and minority in composition.


Growing Diversity

• Immigration• Nativism


Changing Location

• From urbanization to suburbanization• Effects of population movement from

rural areas to cities and from cities to suburbs

• Steady population movement to the west and south (the “Sun Belt”) as employment opportunities shifted


Changing Jobs and Occupations

• Industrial Revolution• Rise of blue-collar employment• Rise of white-collar employment


Income, Wealth, and Poverty

• Stagnation in living standards• The angry middle class• The fall and rise of poverty

– concentrated among racial minorities and single-parent families

– consequences: crime, drug use, disintegration of families


Income, Wealth, and Poverty

• Rising inequality in income and wealth

• Implications for democracy: political equality undermined


The Triumph of the Industrial Corporation

• Numerous small and competitive enterprises before the Civil War

• After Civil War, economy increasingly industrialized and concentrated in giant enterprises

• Aside from a serious setback due to the Great Depression, the American economy and corporations grew impressively through the 1960s.


The Temporary Fall from Grace

• 1970’s-1980’s: rate of U.S. economic growth began to fall behind W. Europe and Japan

• Consequences:– wages of blue-collar workers

devastated– rise of protectionist sentiments


Globalization and the American Economy

• American economy rebounds in 1990’s• New global economy

– integration of much of world into single market and production system

– U.S. corporations as dominant actors • scandals• mergers

– No decrease in inequality in America

• Will globalization slow?


The United States in the International System

• 19th Century : isolationism• Late 19th / early 20th centuries:

America’s growing economic power brings global influence and increasingly turns its attention abroad


The United States as a Superpower (I)

• World War II thrust the United States into a position of leadership.

• Within a decade of World War II, the United States stood as the unchallenged economic, political, and military power among the Western nations.

• Conflicts with the Soviet Union: Cold War• Implications of America’s superpower

status


The United States as a Superpower (II)

• 1980’s-1990’s: dramatic changes in global political, military, and economic systems

• Soviet Union’s collapse leaves the U.S. as the world’s only military superpower.

• However, America’s military superiority does not translate into diplomatic success.


The Foundation Beliefs of American Political Culture

• Competitive individualism: People are naturally competitive, always striving to better themselves in relation to others.– Americans tend to believe that an

individual’s fate is tied to his or her own efforts.

– Americans endorse the idea of equality of opportunity, but reject the idea that people should have equal rewards.

– Competitive individualism is not common in most other modern capitalist nations.



• Private Property and Free Enterprise– Americans tend to believe in the

importance of private property and the efficiencies of the free market.

• Theoretical influences:– John Locke– Adam Smith



• Distrust of government: Government must be limited in its power and responsibilities.– Closely associated with the idea of

individualism – Concern that a powerful government is

likely to threaten individual rights– Belief in limited government is not

common in most other modern capitalist nations.



• This set of ideas about individualism, the free market, and limited government is known as Classical Liberalism.

• Most Americans favor private consumption over public services.

• Most citizens in other rich democracies believe that extensive and high-quality public services are part of the good society.


Citizenship and the Nature of the Political Order

• Democracy — one of the foundations of the American belief system, despite non-democratic features of American history

• Freedom and liberty — at the top of the list of American beliefs, and more strongly honored than elsewhere

• Populism — hostility of the common person to concentrated power (both political and economic), and the powerful

• Piety — Americans are much more religious than people in other rich democracies


Structural Influences on American Politics

• Structural factors greatly influence political outcomes

• Currently, four structural factors are especially important:– the threat of terrorism– the emergence of the U.S. as the world’s

single superpower– rapid technological change– changes in the demographics of the

American population

pearson education, inc. © 2005 chapter 4 the structural foundations of american government and...

Documents

military superpower

military power

americas military superiority

military spending

economic power

superpower iworld war

superpower ii1980s

economic growth