Task 4 - POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION Flashcards
- POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION. Definition
process through which individuals acquire political beliefs and values, and by which these are transmitted from one gen to the next
- political socialization. name the 2 agents
- primary agents
- family and school - secondary agents
- workplace, peer groups and media
MEDIA GAINING POWER! (media corps are major glob players)
2.1 influencing factors: Society
- characterized by regualr patterns of social interaction
-> social structure - sense of connectedness: mutual awareness + cooperation
- industrialization -> powerful factor in shaping structure and character of modern societies (urbanization)
economicalli based class divisions!
2.1 influencing factors: society. How does it influence?
- distribution of wealth and resources conditions the state of power
- social divisions + conflicts help bring pol change (legitimation crises)
- influences public opinion and pol culture
- social structure shapes pol behavior: who votes, how do they vote, who joins parties…
2.1 influencing factors: society and significance of class. why in its decline?
- post-industrial societies: society based on service industries
- process of industrialization (decline of labor-intensive heavy industries)
- fostering of more individualistic and instrumentalist attitudes
- growing atomism: tendency for society to be made up of collection of self-interested indiv
- information society
PRODUCED MORE PLURALIZED CLASS FORMATIONS
2.1 influencing factors: individualism. drawbacks
- thinning of social connectedness
- econ individualism: belief that indiv are entitled to autonomy in econ matters
- incresed anomie: weakening values linked with isolation and loneliness
Why?
DECREASE OF SOCIAL DUTIES AND MORAL RESPONSIBILITY + GROWTH OF EGOISM
2.1 influencing factors: individualism. advantages
–> according to liberals
- mark of social progress
- expansion of choice and opportunity
- widened sphere of personal freedom
- decisions on self-definition
- spread of social reflexivity: tendency of indiv to reflect, on the conditions of their actions
MORE SELF-AWARENESS
- RISE OF IDENTITY POLITICS. definition
–> a style of politics that seek to counter group marginalization by embracing positive and assertive sense of collective identity
- rise of identity pol. characteristics
- seeks to challenge oppression
- reshapes group’s identity through process of pol-cultural self-assertion
- group marg operates through stereotypes and values developed my dominant groups
-> structure their image - subordination can be challenged by reshaping identity
-> sense of pride and sel-respect
- identity pol. manifestations: cultural diversity. name the 3 types
cultural diversity:
1. liberal multiculturalism
- pluralist multiculturalism
- cosmopolitan multiculturalism
- identity pol. manifestations: culture diversity (liberal multic)
- liberal multiculturalism
- committment to freedom and toleration
- ability to choose own moral beliefs and way of life
- identity pol. manifestations: culture diversity (pluralistmultic)
- pluralist multiculturalism
- cultural diversity
- based on value pluralism
- no single conception of right and wrong
- equally legitimate conceptions
- focuses on unequal power relations
- identity pol. manifestations: culture diversity (cosmopolitcan multic)
- cosmopolitan multiculturalism
- endorses cul diversity and identity pol
- diversity as positive on the grounds of what each culture can learn from each other
- acceptance of multiple identities
- identity pol. manifestations: religion
religion
- secularism: belief that religion should not intrude into secular affairs
- seen as potent means of regenerating personal identity
- secularization -> importance of private/public divide
- secularization thesis: theory that modernization is accompanied by the victory of reason over religion
- moral relativism: condition in which there is a deep and widespread disagreement of moral issues
- identity pol. manifestations: gender and identity
gender and identity
- feminism: equal rights and social equality
- identity pol. manifestations: race and ethinicity
race and ethnicity
- consciousness raising
- strategies to remodel social identity
- emphasis on pride, self-worth
- POLITICAL CULTURE. what?
pattern of orientations to pol objects such as parties, gov, and the constitution, expressed in beliefs, symbols and values
- political culture. name the three types
- participant pol culture
- subject pol culture
- parochial pol culture
4.1 participant pol culture. definition
where citizens pay close attention to politics
regard pop participation as desirable + effective
4.2 subject pol culture. definition
characterized by passivity among citizens
recognition that they only have limited influence on gov
4.3 parochial pol culture
marked by absence of sense of citizenship
identification with locality, not nation
no desire nor ability to participate in politixs
- APPROACHES TO POL CULTURE. Name the 4
- civic- culture approach
- marxist approach
- bourgeois approach
- conservative approach
5.1 civic-culture approach. + drawback
civic culture: set of specific attitudes crucial to success of modern democracies
- participation of individual with community
- set of beliefs and values vital to make democracy work
- blend of
participant
subject
parochial
drawback:
- if system is good/bad it should not be measured by participation
- pol culture treated as homogeneous -> little attention to pol subcultures
5.2 marxist approach
-> ideas, culture part of ‘sueprstructure’ conditioned by econ base
- culture is class-specific:
- members of a class are more likely to share values and beliefs
NOT THE CONSCIOUSNESS BUT THE EXISTENCE THAT DETERMINES CONSCIOUSNESS
- emphasis on degree to which ideas of ruling class prevade society
- gramsci’s hegemony: spiritual/cultural supremacy of ruling class
- culture, values and beliefs as form of power
5.2 marxist approach. name the 2 types of culture as ideological power
- subjective/felt interest
- objective/real interest: what they would want if they could make indpendent and informed choices
ACCEPTANCE OF CAPITALIST VALUES BASED ON SUBJECTIVE INTERESTS
5.3 burgeois ideology
- ideas of ‘ruling class’ become ideas
- pol culture is thus burgeois ideology
- culture, values and beliefs as form of power
- function of ideoogy is to reconcile working class with their exploitation through falsehoods
- > false consciousness
- repressive tolerance, successful bc it operates behind illusion of free speech
- needs to be challenged by proletarian values and ideas
5.4 conservative approach
- pol culture-> traditional values and tradition
- brings social cohesion and pol stability
- neoconservatism
drawbacks:
- assumes there is authoritative moral system upon which order and stability can be based
- to define values as ‘traditional’: attempt to impose a particular moral system on the rest
- POL CULTURE IN CRISIS. declining social capital
- spread of urbanization = longer journeys to work
- rise of 2-career families
- impact on quantity and quality of parenting
- tendency of tv as leisure time: misshapes social perceptions
EXPLAINS THE TRIUMPH OF CAPITALISM AND INDIVIDUALISM
- ROLE OF MEDIA. in politics
- primary agents (family and social class declines)
-> widenes the scope for media’s influence as principal means of acquiring info - develop of mass tv audience has increased the media’s penetration of ppl’s everyday lives
- role of media. theories of the media. name the 4
- pluralist model
- dominant ideology model
- elite-values model
- market model
7.1 pluralist model. theories of media
- highlights diversity and multiplicity
- portays media as ideological marketplace
-> big range of pol ideologies debating - positive terms
- enhance quality of democracy
- guarantees that gov powers are checked
- strengthenes pluralism and pol comp
7.2 theories of media: dominant ideology model
- media as pol conservative force aligned w interests of elites
- serves to promote compliance and passitivity
- mantain capitalist hegemony
- acts in interests of major corps and moguls
- ownership held by small number of conglomerates
- key role in promoting glob
- western consumerism
7.3 elite-values model
- shifts attention away from ownership of media corps to mechanism through which media output is controlled
- editors, journalists and broadcasters enjoy prof independence
- media moguls cannot control day-to-day editorial decision-making
- media’s pol bias: reflects values of groups that are disproportionally represented
7.4 market model
- differs by holding that newspapers and tv reflect the views of the general public
- private media are businesses concerned with profit maximization
- give ‘people what they want’ and cannot afford to alienate potential viewers with smth they might disagree with
neoliberal mindset
- IMPACT OF TRADITIONAL MEDIA. enhancing or threatening democracy?
enhancing:
- free press key for dem
- fosters dem bc:
fosters public debate and pol engagement
acts as public debate watchdog checking abuses of power
- as civic forum for pol debate
- pol education
- can only b effective if not controlled by gov
- accountable to indep commission
threatening:
- pol biases
- not always objective
- compatible w interests of dominant groups of society
- not subject to public scrutiny
- independence from gov doubtful
- E-DEMOCRACY. definition
use of computer-based technologies to deepen and enhance citizens’ engament in dem processes
- e-democracy. characteristics
- online voting
- online petitions to govs
- accessing pol info via webs, blogs…
- use of social networking sites to engage in pol argument and debate
- use of social media to organize pop protests and demonstrations
- empowerment of non-state actors at expense of govs and elites
- impact on journalism (+ user-generated content)
- new politics
- RELATIONSHIP BTW MEDIA, DEMOCRACY AND GOVERMENT
media’s effect on democracy:
- undermining democracy?
forces fast responses from politicians
has possibility of policy-making
think it displays what majority want -> false
media wants profit maximization -> ppl want identity
IDENTITY POLITICS + PRESIDENTIALIZATION
move away from politics
- WAYS TO REVIVE CIVIC CULTURE
- make representation better
- make voting compulsory lowering voting age
- social representatives
elected politicians
representation of minorities - mantaining ethical stands
- transparency in gov
- comp election
- more proportional system -> parties encouraged to campaign
