GOV: Political Culture(ch 4) Flashcards
american view of political system
liberty: gov has obligation to protect rights of people
equality: especially political, opportunity to vote, economic quality of opportunity, not of results
democracy: gov is accountable to the people
civic duty: we take community affair seriously and become involved
individual responsibility: opportunity to succeed, but you are responsible for your own actions and well being
conflict issues result it…
civil rights and expanding free discussion ie abortion, morality, religion, immigration, and affirmative action
-the gov roles in divide nation
defining good citizenship
- pay taxes, obey law, support military order,
- old generation: great depression, WWII
- middle age: skeptical of gov, join protest movements, boycott products
economic system
- free enterprise: although we see limits on marketplace freedom
- equality of opportunity
- economic individualism
- dislike preferential treatment for less fortunate
comparative government
we have pride in our country, individual initiative, god based morality, assert rights, emphasize individualism, competition, equality, following rules, treating others fairly
comparative economy
we have economic freedom over equality, hard work will reap rewards, gov is not responsible to guarantee standard of living
sources of american political culture
historical: american revolution--liberty, constitution--balance liberty with social control, adversarial spirit--distrust of authority legal/sociological: widespread participation permitted, absence of national religion, protestant roots: work ethic, absence of class consciousness
culture war bw orthodox and progressives
clashes over values
- orthodox v progressives
- -orthodox: religious, drives morality from god, morality is clear, unchanging, and independent
- -progressives: no strong religion, personal freedom important, moral rules are complex
a culture war is different from political disputes because
money is not at stake, compromises are impossible, conflict is more profound
2 perspectives on importance of culture war
2 perspectives
- morris fioria: culture war is a myth, most americans take the middle of the road, politicians participate–not the public
- alan abramouvitz: war does have a role in choosing party affiliations, at very least–the clash of values gets people more politically engaged
mistrust of government
a trend that has been declining since the 1950s
- exceptions: increased during reagans administration and period following 9/11
- causes: vietnam credibility gap, pentagon papers, watergate scandal, clintons impeachment from lying under oath, war in iraq and nuclear weapons
- context: maybe 1950s approval was abnormally high and after it returned to normal, may have been only a few ways to express patriotism in the 60s and 70s which conveyed mistrust, 9/11 allowed for extraordinary outburst of patriotism
mistrust of government has led to
mistrust of congress, declining confidence in most public institutions except the military
- civil society: collection of private, voluntary groups that make human cooperation easier and provide ways of holding the government accountable for its actions
- effect: may help non incumbent candidates (vote in somebody new because they distrust who is there now)
civic duty and social capital
- americans are more likely to join voluntary groups
- social capital: invest in the people
- robert putnam: says social capital makes it easier to achieve common goals
- social capital may be decreasing in ethnically and racially diverse communities
- social capital may be increasing in group membership and informal human contact has increased as a measure of civic health
political tolerance
- for a democracy to exist there must be minimal levels of political tolerance
- most think that america is becoming too tolerant of behaviors that harm society
- most agree in freedom of speech, majority vote, right to petition
- most are becoming more tolerant
- most believe in a stronger defense of common morality( laws in line with) than making sure individuals rights are being protected
- office holders and activists are generally more tolerant
democracy has endured in the US because of
the geography, laws, and the manners and customs of the people
-De tocqueville
