Lecture 5: Political Discontent and Distrust of Government

Question 1

explain the political public state post wwii

Answer 1

• WWII= emergence as dominant economic power
  o times of confidence, of trust in government, loyalties to political parties, and of citizen involvement in the politics of the nation.

Question 2

Topic sentence: but starting in the 1960s…

Answer 2

series of jolts to the American political fabric (examples)
o Americans began to lose confidence in government and the major political parties.
o attitudinal changes in political trust and confidence and set the stage for a new political stridency in the US.

Question 3

what forms shows national declines in trust

Answer 3

• Declines seen through party loyalties, electoral turnout, reading newspaper/tv

Question 4

states of decline in gov (trust + independence)

Answer 4

o Trust in gov 4/5 in 1958 > 1/5 in 2015

o 20% rise in ‘independent’ identification

Question 5

how does liberal democracy allow discontent

Answer 5

Encourages freely expressed opinions

o More open disagreement

Question 6

name 7 events that caused historical decline in public trust

Answer 6

civil rights 
vietnam 
watergate
reaganomics (upswing)
9/11
GFC
Monica lewinsky

Question 7

how did vietnam affect trust

Answer 7

 Footage of war= transparency, mass media coverage exposed gov attempts to mislead, less control from gov of flow of information

Question 8

how did watergate affect trust

Answer 8

 Nixon + office break ins
 Ford pardons Nixon, has no consequences
 Erodes trust thru gov conspiracies

Question 9

what was reganomcs

Answer 9

 lowering taxes, trickle down economy

Question 10

effect of 9/11 on public trust

Answer 10

 Initial trust= forced though ‘us vs them’ mentality

Question 11

how did GFC result in distrust

Answer 11

bailed out people who were responsible for crash

Question 12

what 3 current factors affected trust

Answer 12

globalisation
cultural factors
economic trends

Question 13

what economic trends affect trust

Answer 13

free trade agreements= outsource labor

unequal economic gains

Question 14

explain economic trend of free trade

Answer 14

 loss of industrial manufacturing employment in many US states (rust belt), especially Ohio and Michigan, but many others as well.
 US job losses: 2.4 million between 1999 and 2011

Question 15

explain economic trend of unequal gains

Answer 15

 Household income inequalities: lowest quintile= stagnation, where top 5% grown +66% (‘67-’11)
 Wage increases primarily in top ¼ of earners

Question 16

how did globalisation affect electoral candidates

Answer 16

Globalisation – esp.ly cultural change and economic vulnerability – magnified voter anger toward government in 2016 and fuelled support for Sanders and Trump, while it undermined voter willingness to support Clinton as the “status quo” alternative.

Question 17

is political distrust new

Answer 17

no, simmering for decades

• 2016 saw these views achieve majoritarian status.
• Trump just fed of an especially high vulnerability