PoliScie Task 4 Flashcards
What is political socialization and its main actors
It is the process through which individuals acquire political beliefs and values, which are passed on from one generation to the next
Primary agents - family and school
secondary agents - workplace, peer groups and media
the media is gaining influence as they are who expose people to ideas/beliefs
What is political culture and how is it established
definition: pattern of orientations to political objects such as parties, the gov, and the constitution expressed in beliefs
civic-culture approach to political culture
3 parts
Participant culture>citizens pay attention to politics, popular participation is desirable and effective
subject>citizens are more passive, recognize they have limited capacity to influence gov
parochial>absence of sense of citizenship, no desire or ability to influence government
critiques of the civic-culture approach
if a system is good or not should not be determined by participation levels
treats political culture as homogenous>pays little attention to political subcultures
how is the marxist approach to political culture class specific
class specific>members of the same class will have had similar experiences and will likely share similar ideas ,values and beliefs
proletariats ideas differ a lot from the burgeoisies’
bourgeois ideology>ideas of the ruling class become the ruling ideas
in the marxist approach, what is bourgeois ideology
ideas of the ruling class are the ruling ideas
sees culture, values and beliefs as a form of power and is claimed to exist to reconcile the working class with their own exploitation
regressive tolerance, in that it is successful because it operates under the illusion of freedom of speech
to overcome the bourgeois the proletariat must achieve class consciousness
conservative approach to political culture
believes the cultural bedrock of politics is tradition and traditional values
wants values to be strengthened > is linked to family, the church and nation
communitarianism> belief that individual identity is shaped by civic society
how to revive political institutions
increase representation eg. more public access in decision making
make voting compulsory eg make representatives represent everyone not must those who vote
social representatives should represent everyone eg minorities
maintaining ethical stands>leaders should encourage compliance with ethical means and a transparent government
competitive elections > more proportional system in which parties are encouraged to campaign
what is the role of media in political socialisation
media is the principle mechanism in which information and issues and policies are presented to the public
media has caused a decline in the influence of primary agents eg family
media has the power to easily change publics opinion due to the fact that mass media connects with people on a daily basis
pluralist model of media theory
pluralism> highlights diversity
media is a ideological marketplace where different opinions are debated
claims medias impact is overall neutral
media is seen as a positive thing as it supposedly enhances democracy and checks the governments power by highlighting rights and wrong
dominant-ideology model of media theories
media is a politically conservative force and is alligned with the interests of the economic elite and social elite and therefore serves to promote passivity among the public
claims that media is in a way corrupted as the they will only publish what is in the interest of the company itself
elite value model of media theory
3 models
media can set a broad political agenda
either claim:
1.) that the media reflects the views and beliefs of the middle class
2.) that the media reflects the views of university level graduates which are liberal eg different from the less educated masses
3.) that the media reflects he views of men who are dominant in the field of media eg insufficient representation of female troubles
market model of media theories
claims mass media reflects the view of the general public because media outlets are businesses therefore they “give the viewers what they want” but at the same time they abandon covering serious public debates as they as it may result in loosing market shares
effect of media on democracy
media is undermining democracy by:
politicians focus on the media instead of making policy
media shapes political agendas
politicians think what the media says is what the public wants when in fact the media just publishes what it wants
makes political leaders “brand ambassadors” and so is less political
