The Political Values of Political Actors

1
The Political Values of Political Actors

• Intro to Politics and Political Analysis
• POSC 120
• Braunwarth

2
Key Questions

• Political Values important beliefs about what
  goals, principles, and policies are worthwhile in
  public affairs
• How do the actual political values of political
  actors compare with civilized values such as
  peace, liberty, justice, and welfare? (well look
  at these in turn)
• Can political actors harmonize different,
  sometimes competing, values?
• How do the values of political leaders differ
  from those held by common citizens (and why
  should they differ in a democracy)?

3
Values of Nations Security and Peace

• Most nations say they believe in security in
  peace
• Yet 30-40 wars at any one time
• 87.5 million killed in 20th c.
• Are all wars fought in self-defense?
• Huntington focuses on the different values of
  different civilizations leading to a clash of
  civilizations

4
Values of Nations Liberty, Human Rights, and
Democracy

• Fundamental tradeoff between demands for safety
  and belief in basic individual rights and
  freedoms
• Huntington predicted the development of
  democracies would ebb and flow with an overall
  increase
• Democratization Impediments?
• Culture
• Poverty
• Kleptocracy - no democratic institutions frail
  democracies

5
Values of Nations Justice, Equality, and Liberty

• Its the same tradeoff between order and freedom
• Developed countries understand justice in terms
  of liberty
• Developing countries understand justice in terms
  of equality
• Some look at justice in terms of income
  distribution
• U.S. is more skewed than other democracies
• But is more skewed in the developing world, often
  as a result of consciously designed policies

6
Values of Nations Welfare and Economic Well-Being

• Maslow notes that the values of people who make
  up political communities are rooted in, and
  correlate with, a hierarchy of human needs
• What do we need to satisfy before higher-order
  goals like love and freedom?
• What do you give away for safety and security
• What if you really are safe but you dont feel
  safe?
• How is this relevant to the situation in One Flew
  Over the Cuckoos Nest?

7
Basic Values

• Among citizens of a given society, is there broad
  consensus or significant disagreement about
  certain basic values?
• Is there consensus or disagreement in Iraq?
• How about the U.S.?

8
Culture Wars

• In the United States there has been widespread
  agreement among Republicans and Democrats on some
  basic issues but a clear difference on government
  spending for services.
• However, in recent years, it would appear that
  culture wars have become more evident in recent
  years. Issues of dispute include
• Abortion
• Gay marriage
• Prayer in public schools
• Euthanasia
• Genetic research
• Sex education in the schools

9
Interest Groups

• Many political scientists are skeptical about
  national and popular values. For them, politics
  is a tug-of-war among competing interest groups.
• There are various types of Interest Groups
• Religious
• Ethnic and racial
• Professional associations
• Special interest and reform

10
Class

• Some political scientists--those influenced by
  the egalitarian ideas of Marxism or
  socialism--call special attention to the
  interests held by each of the various classes,
  especially workers and capitalists. Class values
  are critical to understanding the political
  process.