Unit 4: Political Ideologies and Beliefs

Liberal

more government involvement in protections and economy, larger gov

Conservative

less government involvement in protections and economy, smaller gov

political socialization

development of a political identity

number 1 influence in the development of a person’s political ideology

family

generational effects

significant events that impact a generation (ex. 9/11)

life cycle effects

Events throughout your life that shapes and adjusts your political identify

political/generational groupings:

baby boomers, silent generation, genX, millennials, genZ,

Baby Boomers/Silent Generation

• generally most active in politics

• age-specific issues (social security, medicare, etc.)

• less tolerant of social issues

Gen X

• Very active in politics

• more conservative than liberal

• less tolerant of social issues

Millennial

• less politically active

• higher levels of education

• more tolerance of social issues

Gen Z

• more liberal with social issues than other groupings

• least likely to vote

Wedge Issues

sharply divide citizens, create single-issue voters (ex. guns, abortion, immigration, gay marriage)

Valence Issues

concerns that are shared across political ideologies (economy:Rep. and Dem. both want it strong) 

Saliency

Issues of extreme importance to a particular group

Opinion Polls

Take pulse of America on a specific topic, helps politicians what is important to citizens

Random Sampling

same chance of being selected, people of different gender, age, ethnicity, region, etc..

Majoritarian Policy Making

Doing what the majority of Americans want 

Interest Groups Policy Making

Interest groups influencing all three branches

Balancing Liberty and Order Policy Making

 Finding a proper balance between laws and rights

Fiscal Policy

decisions made by congress/federal government: taxes, spending, government programs. Liberals want more taxes for government programs, conservatives cut taxes cuz they don’t want em

Monetary Policy

Federal Reserve watches over value of American dollar and rate of inflation. The fed protects inflation by controlling interest rates.