AP Gov - Unit 4: American Political Ideologies & Beliefs

political socialization

experiences & factors that shape an individual’s political identity

political ideology

an individual’s coherent (all fits together) set of beliefs about gov and politics

What are the top contributors to political socialization?

• #1 contributor = family (opinions shape you)

• school (peers/friends)

• civic & religious organizations

  • civic organization = local gov, volunteer work, etc.

• generational effect & life-cycle effect

generational effect

impact of historical events experienced by a generation (typically right before they become an adult) upon their political views

• ex. Pearl Harbor (Greatest generation), JFK assassination, Vietnam War, Watergate, 9/11 (millennials - many pick security as what they value most), Covid (Gen Z - caused lack of trust in gov & conservative trend in voters)

life-cycle effect

impact of a person’s age & life stage on their political views

• younger ppl are far less likely to vote/become involved in politics

core American political values

• individualism

• equality of opportunity

• free enterprise

• rule of law

• limited government

individualism (core American political value)

everyone has ability to shape their life & destiny through choices they make

• opposite of collectivism - doing things for the whole (communism)

equality of opportunity (core American political value)

equal playing field

free enterprise (core American political value)

capitalism - pursuit of self-interest, competition, efficient allocation of resources, & limited gov regulation of market

rule of law (core American political value)

everyone is held accountable to the same laws

limited government (core American political value)

gov only has powers granted in the Constitution; power comes from the people

globalization

increased interconnectedness of people, businesses, and countries throughout the world, especially because of technological connection

• politicians must navigate when making foreign policy decisions b/c affects other countries - will react

tensions between the world’s superpowers mean tensions between…

US, Russia, & China

multinational corporations (MNCs)

companies that do business in 2+ countries; hard to regulate b/c different countries have different policies

• ex. Amazon, McDonald’s

nongovernmental organization (NGOs)

organizations outside of the gov that work for a public cause

• ex. Doctors without Borders

intergovernmental organization (IGOs)

organizations that countries join to gain some benefit if they meet certain criteria

• ex. EU, UN, WTO

trade agreements between countries fall under…

globalization

Benefits of globalization

• encourages democracy in countries that don’t have it

• increases technology access for places that don’t have much

problems of globalization

• outsourcing - not manufacturing in own country b/c cheaper elsewhere (b/c US has laws against long hours/bad conditions)

• weakening of traditional cultures

• Internet can be used to promote violence/terrorism

  • ex. ISIS does this to recruit ppl in the US

public opinion

sum of individual attitudes about gov, politics, and issues; 2 components:

1. individual’s beliefs/attitudes (ppl have different reasons for their views - some are better than others… should be well-informed)

2. blending of these views into larger concept (public opinion)

Why does public opinion need to be understood, even though there are debates about whether it really exists?

b/c elected officials need to know what we want to be able to represent us well

• so know what to do to get reelected

In what ways can the public display their public opinion? What is a drawback?

polls, protests, meetings, writing letters to representatives

• drawback = most people don’t do these things

What are the two general perspectives on public opinion?

1. the average citizen doesn’t have/can’t express meaningful opinions on issues

2. even if citizens don’t have clear opinions, it’s still useful to gather data on public opinion (b/c that reality exists & ppl will vote that way)

   • the view we’ll take in this class

“gut rationality”

person uses gut feeling to form political opinion

• from experience of living in US for decades (remembering that history)

• do this for topics you don’t want to do in-depth research on

political party indentification

forming opinion based on political party you agree with

“wisdom of crowds”

forming an opinion based on group perspective, not individual perspective

• ex. based on family, friends, coworkers, etc.

• but still good to research other perspectives

How can public opinion be measured?

• outreach from public - writing, calling, emailing, attending town hall meeting of elected officials

  • not best way b/c show opinions of only those who feel strongly about the issue

• elections - better but still have limitations (b/c revolve around only a few main issues)

• polls (several types)

• focus groups

Officials seek better ways to…

see what their constituents (ppl an official represents) think

focus group

small group assembled for conversation about specific issues

• not scientific, but the media likes them

scientific poll

poll of 1. randomly selected respondents with 2. statistically significant sample size (1500+) and 3. neutral language

sample

group from a larger population; must be at least 1500 ppl to be statistically significant

random selection

making sure poll respondents aren’t over- or under-representing any particular group

What is the goal of designing a sample?

to have a representative sample (reflects the demographics of the population)

How can a survey be adjusted for error?

• weighting - adjusting survey to better represent population’s demographics

• sampling error - margin of error; try to be within + or - 3 percentage points

• mass survey - ensure over 1500 responses

straw poll

informal poll taken at political event; not scientific b/c it’s the ppl who care most about party/are most optimistic

entrance poll

conducted as someone enters an event; typically only at the local level (makes it not scientific)

exit poll

conducted outside a polling place after voting; ppl are asked who they voted for & why

• media likes them

• are used the most out of straw poll, entrance poll, & exit poll

similarities/differences between benchmark poll & tracking poll

measure same things at different times

benchmark poll

taken before or at the beginning of a political campaign; ask how ppl feel about the candidate & what issues they care about + see if people know who the candidate is

tracking poll

taken during a political campaign, typically week by week; ask how ppl feel about the candidate & what issues they care about

In what ways can polls be conducted?

by telephone (random digit dialing), online through email, in-person, etc.

What about the making/asking of a poll can influence responses?

• question order (can influence responses to the following questions)

• question wording

• appearance/tone of the person asking (if in-person)

Does polling always accurately predict results? Give evidence.

No - was off for 2016, 2020, & 2024 presidential elections

What are the patterns in public opinion (3 best indicators of how someone may vote)?

1. political party identification

2. gender gap (men tend to vote Republican, women tend to vote Democrat)

3. race/ethnic identity

What can polls be used to figure out?

• what the public wants (although hard to determine how much public opinion influences public policy decisions)

• to “spin” policy decisions to the public

political ideology

set of beliefs about desired goals & outcomes of governance policies; what ppl think the gov should do

right vs. privilege

• right - something guaranteed that the gov can’t take away

• privilege - something that a person may obtain or receive, but that gov can take away

• debates about rights vs. privileges - ex. healthcare

party ideology

a party’s philosophy about the proper role of gov & its set of positions on major issues

conservatism

more government control of social behavior, less government control/regulation of business & economy

• Republican Party is associated with conservatism

social behavior examples

abortion, marijuana usage, same-sex marriage, etc.

liberalism

less gov control of social behavior, more gov control/regulation of business & economy

• Democratic Party is associated with liberalism

libertarianism

less gov control of both social behavior & business/economy

• favors very little gov regulation/intervention beyond protecting private property

• NOT anarchism though!

• Libertarian Party is associated with liberalism

Democrats vs. Republicans: aboration

D - pro-choice, R - pro-life

Democrats vs. Republicans: affirmative action (policies/programs designed to improve opportunities for groups who have historically faced discrimination)

D - allow race-based preferences, R - prohibit race-based preferences

Democrats vs. Republicans: crime

D - focus on protecting the rights of the accused, R - focus on strong punishment for offenders

Democrats vs. Republicans: business

D - support regulation of business, R - ease regulation of businesses

Democrats vs. Republicans: death penalty

D - oppose, R - support

Democrats vs. Republicans: defense spending

D - decrease or maintain, R - increase

Democrats vs. Republicans: gun control

D - more regulation of firearms, R - less regulation of firearms

Democrats vs. Republicans: health care

D - support the Affordable Care Act, R - repeal the Affordable Care Act

Democrats vs. Republicans: immigration

D - allow pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, allow undocumented ppl to obtain drivers’ licenses; R - oppose pathways to citizenship and drivers’ licenses for undocumented immigrants

Democrats vs. Republicans: minimum wage

D - increase, R - lower or eliminate

Democrats vs. Republicans: same-sex marriage

D - support current legality of same-sex marriages, R - support idea that marriage should be defined as between one man and one woman

Democrats vs. Republicans: school vouchers

D - less likely to support, R - more likely to support

Democrats vs. Republicans: taxes

D - increase taxes, especially for wealthy; R - cut taxes, especially for businesses

Adam Smith

wrote Wealth of Nations arguing for free market (laissez-faire) economy (capitalism)

• limited gov regulation of market - “invisible hand” = consumer regulates economy

opposite of capitalism

command-and-control economy (Communism)

What type of economy does the US have?

a mixed economy - not purely capitalist, but based on captialism

How can the economy’s health be monitored based on?

GDP, economic recessions, unemployment rate, inflation

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

total value of goods & services produced by an economy

economic recession

when the economy shrinks (happens when GDP declines)

• causes unemployment to increase, businesses to close, etc.

unemployment rate

measures how many ppl are looking for a job and can’t find one

• so doesn’t account for ppl who have given up looking for a job or underemployment (when ppl are overqualified for a job)

inflation + how it’s measured

the value of the dollar decreases, so prices increase

• measured by Consumer Price Index (CPI) - price of necessities over time

monetary policy

set of economic tools to regulate the amount of money in an economy; comes from monetary theory

• is controlled by the Federal Reserve System - part of gov yet own entity

How does the Federal Reserve control monetary policy?

• meet to determine interest rates & reserve rates

• having too much money in economy increases inflation, so they raise interest & reserve rates to decrease inflation, lower them to get more money into the economy to decrease unemployment

fiscal policy

government use of taxes & spending to try to lower unemployment, support economic growth, & stabilize economy

• controlled by Congress/the president

• 2 approaches: Keynesianism & Supply-Side Economics

Keynesianism

focuses on gov spending to improve economy (ex. New Deal), used more so by Democrats (but sometimes by Republicans)

Supply-Side Economics

aka trickle-down economics or Reaganism; tax cuts; used more so by Republicans

healthcare debate

• Democrats want less gov control of healthcare; their policy = Medicare/Medicaid

  • Medicare - federal gov health insurance for seniors & disabled

  • Medicaid - federal gov healthcare cost coverage for the poor

• Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) - required ppl to purchase gov health insurance if didn’t have it from employer - upheld 5-4 by Supreme Court

public education debate over school choice/vouchers

• vouchers - use taxpayer money to pay for tuition in private/religious schools; states offer them to encourage ppl to attend failing private/religious schools

• some people criticize this b/c it’s gov funding for religious schools

• Republicans are more for vouchers, Democrats are more against them