1. Political Culture Ch 4

2. Political Culture 1

3. Bell Ringer Which one could you live without? Why?
Majority rule/ Minority Rights
Equality
Private Property
Individual Freedoms
Compromise
Limited Government
Please get out your Unit 1 test – MC & FRQ

4. Unit 1 Test Review

5. Today we will … Define political culture.
Objectives
Agenda
Define political culture.
List some of the dominant aspects of political culture in the U.S. and identify influences.
List the sources of our political attitudes.
Compare & contrast economic systems – AP6.
Unit 1 Test Review
American Political Culture – slide notes
Comparing Across Countries – pair/share data analysis
Political/Economic Ideologies - movie

6. Political Culture
Political Culture is the underlying set of values and beliefs about politics & economic life
System of meaning for interpreting politics among a given population
What do citizens think about:
Beliefs about authority
Groups vs. individuals
Liberty vs. security
Necessary level of legitimacy
The role/ independence of the political community
Why is it necessary to study more than a country’s institutions?

7. American Political Culture
“Shared” set of values and beliefs
5 elements of the American view of our political system:
Liberty
Equality
Democracy
Civic Duty
Individual Responsibility

8. Sources of American Political Culture
History: people came to US for 2 reasons
Distrust of rulers/ authority
Religion
American Revolution
Constitution
Adversarial culture
Federalists v Democratic Republicans
Legitimized role of opposition party
American Political Culture
Majority rule/ Minority Rights
Equality
Private Property
Individual Freedoms
Compromise
Limited Government

9. Shared Set of Values

10. Alexis de Toqueville
Wrote Democracy in America – profound analysis of our political culture
Tocqueville’s reasons why democracy would take root:
Abundant and fertile soil
Vast territory to acquire land and make a living
No feudal aristocracy
No hereditary/ Aristocracy
Low taxes
Few legal restraints

13. Role of Religion America is the most religious industrialized country
Avg. American compared to avg. European:
Believe in God
Pray on a daily basis
Acknowledge clear standards of right and wrong
Religious people in the US:
Donate more $ to charities vs. secular folks
More likely to give $ and donate time to non-religious organizations than secular folks

14. Religion & Politics
Both liberals (Civil Rights movement) & conservatives (Moral Majority, Christian Coalition) have used the pulpit

16. Beliefs about the Economic System
Generally Americans:
Are more willing to tolerate economic inequality than political inequality.
Favor equality of opportunity rather than equality of results.
Support common sense regulations and competition in the marketplace.
Willing to help those “truly” in need.
Economic individualism & personal responsibility

17. Check for Understanding
How do we know that Americans share beliefs?
How can we explain the existence in our society of behavior that is obviously in conflict with these beliefs?

18. Political Tolerance
In order for democracy to work, citizens must have a political culture that allows the discussion of ideas & the selection of leaders in an atmosphere reasonably free of oppression.

19. Culture War

20. The Culture War
Class consciousness: middle/lower class ideas vs. those of the upper class
We generally believe the same things in America
“Ballot not Bullets”
So we end up fighting over moral issues
Orthodox- belief that morality & religions ought to be of decisive importance, more than liberty
Evangelicals & many Protestants - “Religious Right”
Progressive – belief that importance of personal freedom > morality
“Secular Left”

21. Check for Understanding
Which most accurately describes the orthodox view?
Morality is more important than self-expression, and the rules vary with circumstances.
Personal freedom is more important than tradition, and morality is based on unchanging rules from God.
Morality is more important than self-expression and is based on unchanging rules from god
Personal freedom is more important than tradition and the rules for morality vary with circumstances.

22. Trust in Government

23. Trust in the Federal Gov. 1958-2008

24. Check for Understanding
What are some general observations you can make about American’s trust in government?
What are the national trends from the mid-1990s to the present regarding mistrust of the government?

25. Trust in Government
“American Malaise” - Jimmy Carter, Watergate, Vietnam
People distrust the people in power, but not so much the form of government
Trust was only high in the 1950’s/ 1960’s

26. Civil Society
Collection of private, voluntary groups that – independent of the gov. & commercial market – make human cooperation easier & provide ways of holding the gov. accountable

27. Political Efficacy Internal: participation
External: how government responds
Polls show most Americans think that politics and government is too complicated for them to understand.
Government cannot really respond to them
People are not more “alienated” - they are more realistic

28. Comparing Across Countries
External Efficacy
Table 4.2
Patriotism
Table 4.3
Equality of Results vs Equality of Opportunity
Table 4.4
Table 4.5
Religion
Table 4.6
Table 4.7

29. Think/Pair/Share
How does America compare to other countries? (generalization)
Specific example(s) that support your generalization
Most surprising factoid
External Efficacy
Table 4.2
Patriotism
Table 4.3
Equality of Results vs Equality of Opportunity
Table 4.4
Table 4.5
Religion
Table 4.6
Table 4.7

30. Study of Political Culture in 5 Nations
Americans had strongest sense of civic duty & civic competence (internal political efficacy)
Over 50% of Americans felt one should be “active in the community”
Vs. Britain 30%, Germany 20%
US trust in government is lower than it once was, but higher than other nations.
Americans know there are problems, but want policy changes, not changes in the system.

31. Comparing Economic Systems
Sweden favors equality of results over equality of opportunity, believed in giving equal pay and setting a limit on incomes.

32. Closure Explain Equality of Results vs. Equality of Opportunity.
How does Religion impact American political culture?
Homework: Complete questions for Chapter 5 & prepare for quiz on chapters 4 and 5

33. Political Ideologies & Economic Systems
AP6

34. Common Political Ideologies
Liberalism: Emphasis on political and Economic freedom. Emphasis on public opinion.
Socialism: Accepts and promotes free market principles, yet believes that the state should regulate the economy and provide benefits in order to ensure some measure of equality.
Communism: Values equality over freedom. Effective resource allocation and economic and social equality.
Fascism: The state has the right and responsibility to mold the society and economy & eliminate obstacles (including people) that might weaken them. Devalues individual freedom.

35. Economic Systems
Command Economy: Government owns almost all industrial enterprises & retail sales outlets. Production goals set by a central government (party-dominated), values equality, quotas and plans/directs production and distribution.
Economic Liberalism: Free markets, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, low or no tariffs on trade.
Free-Market Capitalism: Relies on profit motive and competition.
Mixed Economies: Market economy w/ significant control from the government.
Social Welfare Capitalist System (UK)
Europe: team oriented & emphasis on cooperation between management and organized labor. Government = economic safety net. Government subsidies, universal health care, day care, pensions.
Socialism Market Economy (China)
Gradual infusion of market economy while still retaining state control
State Capitalism (Russia)

36. Economic Systems Economic Systems explained by cows
Commanding Heights Ch 7 & 8
Chart:
Command
Socialist
Capitalist

37. Communism vs. Capitalism Quotes
Read your quotes and use them to describe Communism vs. Capitalism
JIGSAW
JIG Get with same reading folks to check your description.
SAW Get with a different folk to compare quotes, choose 2 quotes to compare and write our your comparison/ summary paragraph.
CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING: ONE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COMMUNIST IDEOLOGY AND CAPITALIST IDEOLOGY

38. Pew Research - Political Typology Quiz
Political Typology Quiz | Pew Research Center for the People and the Press