Political Culture Definitions

"people's orientation to politics“ "how a society understands and misunderstands itself“ i.e. attitudinal, not behavioral Textbook (p. 80): “a patterned and sustained way of thinking about how

political and economic life ought to be carried out” Alternate definition: “the underlying set of values and beliefs about

politics and the system of meaning for interpreting politics among a given population” Set of values System of meaning

Characteristics and components Homogeneity v. heterogeneity of the political culture Greater emphasis on individuals or the collective (community) Greater emphasis on liberty or security Degree of acceptance of elite authority (not just in politics, but in

society) How legitimate is the political system and its leaders? What is the focus (level, unit) of political identity (neighborhood, state,

nation, ethnicity, religion)

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U.S. Political Culture American view of the political system

Liberty (free to do whatever, as long as others not hurt) Equality (of voting, participation) Democracy (government accountable to the people) Civic duty (take community affairs seriously, help out) Individual responsibility (individuals responsible for own actions

and well-being) Evidence?

Surveys/polls Infer from books, speeches, slogans, political choices, observations

of foreign visitors Counter-evidence?

Behaviors inconsistent with values e.g. racial segregation and discrimination Self-interest and social circumstances shape behavior too “American dilemma” (Myrdal) “America is not a lie, it is a disappointment” (Huntington)

Persistence of political conflict Specific policy disagreements v. universally-held values Values may be too general apply to specific disputes

Comparing U.S. Political CulturePatriotism: Greater pride in being a member of this countryIndividual responsibility

Less likely to believe that “success in life is determined by forces outside our control” (32% v. 68% in Germany)

More likely to teach the “value of hard work” (60% v. 38% in Britain)

Religion: more likely to link belief in God and morality (58% v. 13% in France)

Participation in voting v. deference to politiciansAmericans less likely to vote and to defer (consider Sweden,

Japan)Stronger sense of civic duty Greater confidence in political institutions (though not in policies

or politicians)Views of economic system

Equality of results more favored in other systemsConsider Sweden: more income redistribution, less support for

large gaps in pay between chief executives and lowest-paid workers

The “Civic Culture” Almond and Verba (1963, 1980)

Tried to explain broad similarities in political culture in advanced industrial democracies

Tried to explain how this was not the classic model of civic political engagement

Three types of political culture Parochial (barely aware of government) Subject (aware and obedient) Participant (aware and involved)

Civic Culture Primarily participant with holdovers of parochial and subject This combination underlies stable democracy U.K. good example of this mix

Criticisms of “Civic Culture” Reflection of the political/governmental system rather than determinant of it Not especially democratic Ignores political subcultures, especially as shaped by class Seems to apply to narrow slice of time (1950s and 1960s in Western Europe)

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Key Issue I: Religion and Politics America is a religious country with a secular government

Americans more likely to believe in God, pray daily, go to church, etc.

Religious people more likely to be involved civically and politically Constitution is basically secular

God not mentioned in the Preamble (as source of legitimacy) prohibits a “religious test” to hold office First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an

establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” Religion important in political movements

e.g. abolitionism, temperance, civil rights Moral Majority, Christian Coalition “culture war” between “orthodox” and “progressive” cultural

classes (89-90) Religion acknowledged in politics

Pledge of Allegiance “In God We Trust” on currency “God bless America” in politicians’ speeches

Key Issue 2: Distrust in PoliticsPrior to 1960s, high levels of trust in government

institutions, policies and politiciansAll have eroded, especially trust in federal government

“to do what is right” (chart, 91)Confidence in Congress dropped from 42% in 1973 to

11% in 2010Consider effect of events

1950s: height of “American century” (U.S. military, economic and cultural influence at peak)

1960s: civil rights movement, anti-war movement, urban riots

1970s: Watergate, oil crisisBrief resurgence of confidence after 9/11

Are Americans “alienated” from politics?

Ideological Hegemony Marxists assumed that political cultures reflected class differences

"the ruling ideas of every age have always been the ideas of the ruling class" Implication was that working class would develop political subculture contrary to

dominant "political culture“ (because of its different material circumstances) However, the (European) working class didn't develop proletarian

consciousness (especially in politics) state coercion couldn't explain all this; ideas played a role Gramsci focused on development of ideological hegemony as the major barrier to

socialism “Hegemony” v. “political culture”

Gramsci’s theories try to explain the dominant political culture in liberal democracies

Liberal democracies emphasize values which divide the working class, e.g. individualism

Or, they emphasize spurious cross-class unity, e.g. religion, nationalism, racism This accomplished not simply by “indoctrination” and explicit political lessons, but by

media, social institutions, cultural experiences “political culture” then not simply values and systems about politics, but impact of

culture broadly on politics Context (implicit) constitutes and reinforces content (explicit)

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