Unit 4 Flashcards
Individualism
place emphasis on self-reliance and independence
Equality of Opportunity
belief that every American, regardless of their race, ethnicity, sex, religion, etc. deserves equal footing to go after life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
Free Enterprise
laissez-faire economics, as little govt intervention in economics as possible
Rule of Law
belief that every citizen is equal under the law
Limited Government
a govt whose limits are well-defined and is restrained through the separation of powers and a system of checks and balances
Conservatives
cherish established institutions and seek to preserve them for the good of society
self-centered individualism
emphasizes the interests of the individual above the interest of society
meritocracy
everyone rises in America based on their own toil and sweat
Liberals
push for new reforms in order to make society more just and equitable
enlightened individualism
emphasizes the interests of society above the interests of the individual
Core Beliefs of Americans
Individualism
Equality of Opportunity
Free Enterprise
Rule of Law
Limited Government
Six factors of political socialization
family
schools
peers
media
civic/religious organizations
globalization
Political socialization
A continuous process in which a person develops their ideology through different factors and experiences
Generational Effects
a person’s voting behavior and political ideology is very much influenced by the generation into which they were born
Silent Generation (Before 1945)
Conformity
High value on religious belief
Rigid gender roles
Conservative
Support American intervention abroad due to Cold War
Tough on crime
Millennials (1981-1996)
Even more liberal
More ethnically diverse
40% nonwhite
More favorable towards immigrants
More favorable towards socialist policies
Life Cycle Effects
whatever stage of life a person is in will contribute to their political beliefs and behaviors
what political event shaped the silent generation
Struggled through the Great Depression as children and witness the growth of federal govt
Caused them to trust the govt to intervene for their safety
what political event shaped the baby boomers
Lived through the Vietnam War which caused their previous trust in govt to decrease significantly
Govt lied about the progress of the war
Migration from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party
what event shaped the millennials
Lived through 9/11 which caused them to investigate American over intervention in the Middle East
Millennials have a keen sense of foreign policy and how America interacts w/ other countries
Led to voting for candidates who champion cooperation and bridge building with foreign nations
what makes a poll scientific
Writing questions that are free from bias
Presenting questions to a small, randomized group of people
Generalizing results to the larger population
Opinion Poll
helps get a feel for the public’s opinion on a certain topic or discerning people’s feeling on certain candidates or policies
Benchmark Poll
taken at the beginning of a candidate’s run and gives the campaign a benchmark against which they can compare future polls to see how the candidate is faring
Tracking Poll
conducted over time usually with the same group of people, gives information on how the group feels about a given issue
Entrance/Exit Poll
conducted at polling sites that ask people how they voted
Sampling Error
always a chance that the sample will not exactly represent the general population
If a poll has a +3 or -3 sampling error, that’s considered a good and representative poll
Neutral questions
questions are neither confusing or leading
Mass survey
a questionnaire that can be given to a large amount of people
Good at collecting quantitative data
Focus Group
measures the opinions of a small group of people
Good at collecting qualitative data
Bandwagon effect
people are more likely to support a candidate who is polling well
Social desirability bias
when people filling out surveys give a socially desirable answer, even if they don’t follow through with it
Non-response bias
certain groups are more likely to respond to public opinion polls than others
Political ideology
an interlocking set of ideas that form the basis for political decision making
Conservative ideology
emphasizes traditional social structures and existing structures of authority
Liberal ideology
emphasizes civil rights for the marginalized and supports the efforts of social justice movements to ensure everyone has equal access to civil liberties
Party platform
set of policy goals published by the party which tells you the kind of legislation they would pursue if their candidate won the position
Republican Party
GOP (Grand Old Party)
Most closely aligns with conservative ideology
Economics:
Free market
Limited govt intervention
Traditional marriage and family
Limited welfare
Tough on crime
Public policy
the laws and policies on which our society is based
Wedge issue
issue that divides people with little room for middle ground
Valence issue
issue that is usually viewed in the same way by multiple different groups
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act
law that addressed welfare policies that provided govt funding to the poor
Championed by conservatives
Conservatives argued that if poor people received welfare they had no incentive to work and this would trap them in a cycle of poverty
Limited welfare payments to 5 years
Dream Act
addressed immigrants who entered illegally as minors
Championed by liberals
Set regulations for these immigrants to not get deported and become citizens
Obama used an executive order when this act didn’t pass
fiscal policy
decisions the govt makes about govt spending and taxation; controlled by Congress
Monetary policy
decisions the govt makes about how much money should be in the economy; controlled by the Federal Reserve
how do liberals view fiscal policy
wants most govt intervention
spend a lot of money
Keynesian economics
Keynesian Economics
pumps up govt spending by providing federal work programs and economic safety nets (social security)
how do conservatives view fiscal policy
less govt intervention
less govt programs and lower taxes
supply-side economics
Supply-side economics
support business to improve economic turmoil
how do libertarians view fiscal policy
least amount of govt intervention possible
no regulation on businesses
minimal govt programs
how do liberals and conservatives view monetary policy
Conservatives tend to favor using monetary policy to stabilize the economy while liberals tend to believe that monetary policy is too slow to effect real change
what do libertarians believe about social policy
Want as little govt involvement as possible, including social issues
Believe that the only thing the govt is good for is protecting private property and upholding individual liberty
Conservative for economic issues, liberal for social issues
what do liberals believe about social policy
Want the govt out of social issues like abortion, marriage
Want intervention in poverty
what do conservatives think about social policy
Regulate abortion, marriage
Want govt out of guns, education, religion
