Unit 4 (10-15%) American Political Ideologies and Beliefs

American Attitudes About Government and Politics

• Different interpretations of core values, including individualism, equality of opportunity, free enterprise, rule of law, and limited government, affect the relationship between citizens and the federal government and that citizens have with each other.

• Equality of opportunity

Individualism

• the belief that individuals should be responsible for themselves and for the decisions they make

Free enterprise

• laissez-faire, capitalism, less gov’t restrictions on business

Rule of law

• no one is above the law, transparency, equal application of the law

Limited government

• A principle of constitutional government; a government whose powers are defined and limited by a constitution.

• Different ideologies and political values can define and interpret differently these core values.

Political Socialization

• process by which a person develops political values and beliefs

• Factors include: Family, schools, peers, media, and social environments (including civic and religious organizations)

• Globalization: resulted in U.S. political culture both influenced and been influenced by the values of other countries

Changes in Ideology

• Generational and life cycle effects also contribute to the political socialization that influences an individual’s political attitudes.

• Generational effects derive from common experiences shared by a portion of the population that came of age at the same time. Think of your generation and the pandemic.

Life-cycle effects:

• describe the changes in one person’s life as they age, marry, have children, buy a home, or retire. Different events in one life might influence political beliefs.

Influence of Political Events on Ideology

• The relative importance of major political events to the development of individual political attitudes is an example of political socialization

• Political events can strongly influence an individual's ideology, in both the short and long-term.

Measuring Public Opinion

• Public opinion data can impact elections and policy debate

Tracking polls

• track public opinion over time

Exit polls/entrance polls

• polls on election day about votes, helps predict outcome and helps with demographic voting habits.

Focus groups

• smaller groups that are asked more in-depth questions.

Benchmark polls

• often used by candidates when running for office to see where they stand.

• Scientific polling requires the following

• Random sampling

Representative sample

• usually between 400-2000 people and of course random

Proper wording and question order

• don’t want to push respondents to an answer

Evaluating Public Opinion Data

Public opinion polls have sampling errors

• Sampling error: determined by the sample size, the method used to select the sample, and the characteristics of the population being studied.

• Public opinion polls can be utilized by members of Congress or the President to inform them on concerns, how to vote on a bill, major issues, or assist in campaigning (ads, speeches, etc.)

• Presidential approval ratings can improve or decrease based on their actions or events. High approval ratings may make it easier for the presidential agenda to pass.

• Public opinion can also be ignored by politicians based on a variety of factors. Including ideology, unreliable data, issue complexity, etc.

Ideologies of Political Parties

• The Democratic Party (D or DEM) platforms generally align more closely to liberal ideological positions

• The Republican Party (R or GOP) platforms generally align more closely to conservative ideological positions.

Liberal

• tends to want more regulation over economy/ business/ society to create more equality, but less regulation over social behavior.

Conservative

• tends to want less regulation over economy/ business and more regulation on social behavior.

Libertarian:

• want little to no government regulation over economy or social behavior. As little government as possible.

Ideology and Policy Making

• Public policy reflects the attitudes and beliefs of the citizens who choose to participate in politics at that time, and so policies change over the years as citizens' attitudes and beliefs change.

• Political parties adopt solutions toward policy issues as part of their platforms, but these, too, change in response to shifts in public attitudes. As parties conduct research and observe opinion polls, they adjust their proposed policy solutions to best reflect the needs of their desired constituents.

• One way to think of this can be Democrats on immigration or Republicans on trade, both of which have shifted over time.

• The balancing dynamic of individual liberty and government efforts to promote stability and order has been reflected in policy debates and their outcomes over time.

Ideology and Economic Policy

• Liberal ideologies favor more government regulation of the marketplace, conservative ideologies favor fewer regulations, and libertarian ideologies favor little or no regulation of the marketplace beyond the protection of property rights and voluntary trade

• Ideological differences on marketplace regulation are based on different theoretical support, including Keynesian and supply-side positions on monetary and fiscal policies promoted by the president, Congress, and the Federal Reserve.

Keynesian

• An economic philosophy that encourages government spending (through the creation of jobs or the distribution of unemployment benefits) in order to promote economic growth. Increase in deficit spending.

Supply-side economics:

• An economic philosophy that encourages tax cuts (especially for wealthy and corporations)and deregulation in order to promote economic growth. Conservative ideology

Fiscal policy:

• Government decisions about how to influence the economy by taxing and spending. President and Congress

Monetary policy:

Government decisions about how to influence the economy using control of the money supply and interest rates. Federal Reserve dictates monetary policy

Liberal ideologies

tend to think that personal privacy—areas of behavior where government should not intrude—extends further than conservative ideologies do (except in arenas involving religious and educational freedom);

Conservative ideologies

favor less government involvement to ensure social and economic equality;

Libertarian ideologies

disfavor any governmental intervention beyond the protection of private property and individual liberty.

• Policy trends concerning the level of government involvement in social issues reflect the success of conservative or liberal perspectives in political parties