American Political Culture

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American Political Culture
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What Makes a Real American?by Race/Ethnicity
Percent who believe "Trying to get ahead on your
own effort is important in making a person a
real American?"
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Definitions

• What is political culture?
• A distinctive, patterned way of thinking about
  how political and economic life ought to be
  carried out.
• Different from an ideology.
• What is an ideology?
• An internally consistent set of beliefs and
  values about the policies the government ought to
  pursue.

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What Makes an American?

• Who are Americans?
• Jus Soli of the soil
• Jus Sanguinis of the blood
• What makes us Americans?
• Shared beliefs
• Shared ideology

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• Alexis de Tocqueville an early observer of
  American political culture came to the United
  States during the 1830s to investigate why the
  American democracy seemed to be so successful,
  especially since his native France seemed to be
  having so much trouble with it.

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• Tocqueville recorded his observations in
  Democracy in America, a book that remains today a
  classic study of American political values.

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American Liberalism

• He identified several factors that he believed to
  be critical in shaping Americas successful
  democracy
• America grew up in 1750-1850
• Belief in monarchy was dying
• Socialism/Marxism not yet born
• No feudal tradition
• no brutal repression
• no violent class revolution
• result moderate culture

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TWO TYPES OF LIBERALISM

• CLASSICAL (19th Century) LIBERALISM
• historical roots in the revolt against feudalism
• NEW DEAL LIBERALISM
• historical roots in the Great Depression and
  Roosevelt presidency

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Contrasting Ideologies
Classical Liberalism
gtopposed to government intervention in economy
and society
American (New Deal) Liberalism
gtfavors using government to soften the harshness
of market economy (capitalism)
gtopposed to government intervention in
individual thought and personal (private) behavior
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Contrasting Ideologies
American Conservatism
gthostile to government intervention in economy
and society (similar to classical liberalism)
gtfavors using government to shape individual's
thought and behavior (differs from classical
liberalism)
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Shared Values

• Freedom / Liberty
• Understood to mean individual freedom
• Ability to structure our own lives
• Sources
• Frontier
• Many chances for success
• Few Externalities
• Protestantism

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Shared Values

• Equality
• A belief that we are all as good as anyone else
• Sources
• Lack of a feudal tradition
• Protestant Tradition (all souls equal in the eyes
  of God)

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Shared Values

• Individualism
• the belief that individuals are responsible for
  their own well-being and that the strength of our
  system lies in the ability of individuals to be
  left alone to compete for success.
• Sources
• Rugged Individualism
• Frontier Past

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Shared Values

• Civic Duty
• Responsibility to participate in government
• Sources
• Distance from England
• Social contract tradition

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Shared Values

• Capitalism
• Limited government interference in the market
• Government is not responsible for citizens
  welfare
• Sources
• Roman Law
• Frontier
• Wealth of the country
• Protestant Work Ethic

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Shared Values

• Tolerance
• Live and let live attitude
• At least in abstract
• Sources
• Frontier distances
• Settlement patterns

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Shared Values

• Rule of law
• Stands in opposition to rule by an individual,
  which to many Americans implies following the
  whims of a dictator.
• Sources
• Greece/Rome
• Enlightenment
• English tradition

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Shared Values

• Democracy
• Most Americans believe that government should be
  based on the consent of the governed, or that
  legitimacy ultimately lies in the hands of the
  people.
• Sources
• Greece/Rome
• Enlightenment
• English tradition

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Shared Values

• Political tolerance
• Democracy depends on citizens being reasonably
  tolerant of the opinions and actions of others,
  and most Americans believe themselves to be
  fairly tolerant.
• As a general rule, people are willing to deny
  rights to people on the opposite end of the
  political spectrum. For example, liberals are
  most likely to deny right-wing groups, such as
  neo-Nazis or self-styled militia groups their
  rights, and conservatives are most likely to deny
  them to groups they may disapprove of, such as
  gays, atheists, or black militants.

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Shared Values

• Mistrust of the government
• Trust in government and its officials has
  declined significantly since the mid-1960s. Many
  scholars blamed the Vietnam War and Watergate for
  the initial, dramatic drops, but the trend is
  persistent into the early 21st century, with
  Americans in record numbers expressing disgust
  with politics and politicians.

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Shared Values

• Mistrust of the government
• Accompanying the mistrust of government has been
  a drop in political efficacy, a citizens
  capacity to understand and influence political
  events. Political efficacy has two parts
• Internal efficacy the ability to understand and
  take part in political affairs
• External efficacy - the belief of the individual
  that government will respond to his or her
  personal needs or beliefs.

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Is Faith a Characteristic of American Political
Culture?

• Religious
• America is a profoundly religious nation, esp in
  comparison to European counterparts.
• Politics often fought out in arena of religion.
• (a) Abolition struggle
• (b) Civil rights struggle
• (c) Prohibition struggle