Political culture is a distinctive and patterned way of thinking about how political and economic life should (or ought to be) carried out. It is a set of normative values that break down into three distinct cultures: traditional, moralistic, and individualistic.
Origins of Political Attitudes
1. Family
2. Religion
3. Gender
4. Education
5. Social Class
6. Race/Ethnic factors
7. Age
8. Geographic Areas (Regions)
9. Psychographics and Demographic factors
Demographic factors include age, religion, education, gender, etc. (Static factors)
Psychographic factors involve preferences, prejudices, values, etc. (Dynamic factors, such as lifestyle). )
Political Ideology is NOT the same as political culture. It is concerned with a particular course of action that government should pursue, such as a liberal or conservative agenda.
Liberals believe in an active, positive government.
Conservatives believe in a less active, smaller national government with less influence on local matters.
Socialists believe in economic equality and government regulation.
The composition of the American population (about 270 million people in 2000; the workforce population is roughly 120 million people)
Pure Liberals = ¼ of the population. They are liberal on both economic and personal conduct issues. They want government to reduce economic inequality, regulate business, tax the rich, cure economic crime, and protect the rights of the accused. TRAITS. They tend to be young, well educated, Jewish or non-religious.
Pure Conservative = 1/6 of the population. They are conservative on both economic and personal conduct issues. They want government to cut back on welfare spending, allow the market to allocate goods and services, keep taxes low, lock up criminals and protect the rights of victims, and overall have government do less. TRAITS. They tend to be older than the average American, have higher incomes, white, and live in the Midwest and South.
Libertarians = 1/6 of the population. They are conservative on economic issues but liberal on personal conduct issues. They want a small weak government that has little (or minimum) control over the economy and the personal lives of citizens. TRAITS. They tend to be younger than the average American, have advanced degrees or higher levels of education, have high incomes, no religious preference, and live in the West (California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona).
Populists = ¼ of the population. They are liberal on economic issues and conservative on social issues. They want government to be active in reducing economic inequality, regulate business, lock up criminals, regulate personal conduct issues, and allow school prayer. TRAITS They tend to be older than the average American, poorly educated, have low incomes; tend to be female, and live in the South and Midwest.
Neoconservatives are disillusioned liberals that have partly converted to conservative ideologies.
Neoliberals are liberals who have given up on part of the liberal ideology but continue to search for ways to make big government work through new avenues.
Political Elites, also called activists, are involved deeply in politics, political campaigns, run for and hold office, participate in social movements, operate interest groups, work closely with political parties, etc. They tend to be more ideological than the average citizen.
Political Efficacy: How a person feels that they understand politics and how well the system will respond.
Internal versus External
The concept of the Public Interest?