Chapter 5- Lecture

Question 1

What is culture?

Answer 1

• language
• customs and manners
• dress
• ritual
• religion

Question 2

What does Seymour Lipset say political culture is?

Answer 2

It is the general political values, attitudes, and beliefs that are widely held within the political community.

Question 3

What is the textbook definition of political culture?

Answer 3

the fundament political values, beliefs, and orientations that are widely held within a political community.

Question 4

Why is culture an interest to those who study human social and political life?

Answer 4

because culture is collective, a human creation, and inherited

Question 5

In what ways does socialization disseminate political culture?

Answer 5

• family
• the state
• government
• education
• military

Question 6

In what three ways can the study of culture be significant to the study of politics?

Answer 6

1) culture as difference
2) culture as power
3) culture and principles of democracy

Question 7

Why is culture as difference significant to the study of politics?

Answer 7

culture may help to describe and explain differences between states
-it is an important basis for comparative analysis

Question 8

Why is culture as power significant to the study of politics?

Answer 8

Culture has been used to explain why some groups hold power and how and why subordinate groups do not challenge those in power.

Question 9

“To control a people’s culture is to control their tools of self definition in relationship to others. Economic and political control can never be complete or effective without mental control”
-James Ngugi
What does he mean? (hint, has to do with origin stories).

Answer 9

• The nation as a concept
• A lot of that story is selective, exclusive
• All nations have an origin story that is based on power as the political culture we adopt has come from the dominant group of people

Question 10

What do Marxists believe in terms of cultural hegemony?

Answer 10

"According to Marxists and some elements with contemporary feminism, the values and beliefs of the dominant class or of males, respectively, are developed as normal and inevitable by society as a whole, despite the fact that they are contrary to the true interests of the subordinate class."
-Stephen Brooks

Question 11

How is culture and principles of democracy significant to the study of politics? Example?

Answer 11

The study of culture is significant to the study of politics, especially as it pertains to larger normative questions that frame the principles of democracy such as, for example, justice.
Ex. Its it enough to say that equality is achieved when all the laws in a country treat everyone the same?

Question 12

In summary, why is culture highly relevant to the study of politics?

Answer 12

Because it pertains to 1) differences between countries, 2) relations or power, and challenges the status quo and 3) questions that pertain to democratic principles such as equality.

Question 13

What do we use ideological perspectives and fundamental politically relevant values to describe?

Answer 13

the political culture of a political community

Question 14

What is the political culture of the US described as?

Answer 14

Classical liberalism

Question 15

What ideology is a component of the political culture of the Scandinavian countries?

Answer 15

Social democratic ideology

Question 16

What are macro theories (sources of political culture)? Ex?

Answer 16

From this perspective, political culture is about culture from the motherland. Focus on the elite, macro theories give us the big picture.
-Fragment theory

Question 17

Who developed fragment theory?

Answer 17

Louis Hartz

Question 18

What is fragment theory

Answer 18

the theory that ties together European political culture and how it was selectively transferred to countries that were colonized by euro settlers

Question 19

How does Hartz suggest that conservatism and liberalism emerged?

Answer 19

As competing sets of political ideas in Europe (the backdrop from feudalism/capitalism) and leads to socialism

Question 20

European society embraces a___political culture that includes socialism, conservatism, and liberalism as a result.

Answer 20

pluralistic

Question 21

What happened to countries colonized by European settlers according the Hartz? In his view, the US and Canada are basically liberal___where such values as individual freedom are predominant?

Answer 21

• only the leading part of the mother country’s political culture was carried to new lands
• fragments

Question 22

What does fragment theory ignore?

Answer 22

previous culture

Question 23

What does fragment theory presume?

Answer 23

that the transmission of the fragment culture depends on social structure and political institutions from the founding perception–and ideas, values, beliefs that were embraced by the founders and passed down the generations.

Question 24

According to fragment theory, apart from material possession, immigrants also bring what?

Answer 24

cultural baggage

Question 25

According to David Bell and Lorne Tepperman, what does fragment theory see?

Answer 25

the culture of founding groups as genetic codes that sets limits to cultural development.

Question 26

Who does Gad Horowitz credit for setting in place both elements of liberalism and conservatism in Canada?

Answer 26

American loyalists are uniquely responsible and set in place room for socialism

Question 27

What does formative events theory propose?

Answer 27

this theory proposes pivotal or formative events are responsible for directing particular values and beliefs along a specific path -looks to our unique history.

Question 28

Who is the formative events theorist?

Answer 28

Seymour Martin Lipset

Question 29

What claim is Lipset responsible for setting in place?

Answer 29

the claim that the revolutionary origins of the US and the counter-revolutionary origins of Canada and were formative in setting place political developments (and values and ideas) that shaped each nation.

Question 30

Canadians, Lipset argued, are more___towards those in positions of authority and are more willing to___collective action for the common good. Americas are more___and___of government. The Canadian political culture is also characterized by a___acceptance and tolerance of differences in society than the American political culture.

Answer 30

- deferential - support - individualistic - distrustful - greater

Question 31

What influenced a more deferential attitude towards authority in Canada?

Answer 31

idea of a counter-revolutionary past

Question 32

What is the key concept of formative events theory of the difference between the US and Canada?

Answer 32

distrust of government

Question 33

What may have caused the recent distrust in gov't in Canada?

Answer 33

- drop in oil prices - carbon tax - scandal - 2000s successive period of minority gov't (gov't was unstable)

Question 34

Does formative events theory account for the change?

Answer 34

no

Question 35

Canada is moving away from social democratic to what?

Answer 35

neo liberalism

Question 36

What kind of policies did Lipset believe Canadians had become more willing to accept than Americans even though american political culture was viewed as including a strong belief in equality of opportunity so that individuals could advance on their own merit?

Answer 36

He noted that Canadians had become more willing than Americans to support government action to pursue egalitarian policies that redistribute wealth and income to the poor and disadvantaged.

Question 37

Why is it questionable whether the Canadian political culture is still more conservative than the American one?

Answer 37

Canadians have become less deferential to authority than Americans. As well, the level of trust and confidence in gov't tends to be low in both Canada and the US

Question 38

What is efficacy?

Answer 38

citizens have an impact on politics

Question 39

What does a class analysis perspective propose?

Answer 39

culture and the institutions that embody and perpetrate it are the product of class relations

Question 40

What do environmentalists believe?

Answer 40

Political culture driven by consumerism rather thanking connected to environment is problematic

Question 41

The social order and the values that are accepted as the status quo are the product of what?

Answer 41

specific class interests

Question 42

What does political culture have to prove? What did Marx believe these interests were specifically to?

Answer 42

Political culture has to prove economic growth. For Marx, these interests were specifically to the bourgeoisie or capitalist class.

Question 43

What did Marx believe that state was instrumental in maintaining?

Answer 43

Class relations and capitalism

Question 44

Since democracy is ultimately based on the citizenry, it is suggested that what type of political culture is needed if democracy is to be sustained and meaningful?

Answer 44

democratic political culture

Question 45

What did Almond and Veroba argue?

Answer 45

that the most suitable basis for democracy involves a mixture of participant, subject, and parochial political roles.

Question 46

What is civic culture?

Answer 46

the political culture that is desired to maintain democracy (a mix of all three types)

Question 47

What are parochial political cultures described as? What do citizens identify with? Example?

Answer 47

defined as underdeveloped political systems where the collective has very little political knowledge or awareness of government, it places few expectations of institutions of the state, and is very limited in participation. -citizens identify with the immediate locality Ex, Mexico

Question 48

What is a subject political culture? How do citizens see themselves? Example?

Answer 48

Non-democratic societies with authoritarian post. Aware of political system and gov't politics but not in a position to affect institutions of government. -feel powerless and see themselves as obedient subjects rather than as participants. Ex. West Germany, circa 1950

Question 49

What is a participant political culture? What do individuals feel like? What is an example?

Answer 49

Within these societies citizens are aware of political system and are repositioned as such that they engage, organize, and act readily within the political system. High degree of political culture and efficacy. -individuals feel like they can affect outcomes Ex. United States

Question 50

What do Almond and Veroba believe will happen if we go too far one way or the other (towards capacity to govern or responsive government)?

Answer 50

democracy will not function

Question 51

Why we want gov't to be responsive?

Answer 51

meet the needs of individualism society

Question 52

What is civic culture a balance of?

Answer 52

A balance between responsive government and a firm capacity to govern

Question 53

What problem arises if all government offices do is cater to their constituency (are too responsive)?

Answer 53

they may only listen to the wealthy, the majority, or the loudest voice

Question 54

What is the capacity to govern?

Answer 54

let government create laws

Question 55

What is the problem with too much capacity to govern?

Answer 55

Man be that it may lead to an authoritarian state or oligarchy

Question 56

Will "giving the people what they want" as a mantra for democracy always be in the best interest of the long term stability of a democratic system?

Answer 56

may not always be

Question 57

Will "letting parliament do its job" prove problematic?

Answer 57

yes, for some it may