Chapter 12: Political Socialization, Ideology, and Public Opinion

Core Political Values

• The US has a common political culture based on beliefs and attitudes about government and politics.

• This political culture is characterized by several core political values:

  - Individualism: individuals have the freedom to make choices as they wish.

  - Equality of opportunity: all people should have the same opportunities to compete and achieve.

  - Free enterprise: private businesses operate in competition and free of government control; capitalism.

  - Rule of law: all people and institutions are subject to and accountable to fairly applied and enforced law.

  - Limited government: the powers of government are restricted in a democracy by the will of the people and the law.

• The importance of these values changes over time.

• During the George W. Bush presidency, some believed the government's power should be greatly expanded due to the "War on Terror."

• During the first two years of the Obama presidency, some claimed that the federal government's powers had gotten too big, including members of the "Tea Party."

Political Socialization

Political socialization is the process by which individuals develop a sense of political identity, which begins in childhood and continues throughout life.

There are several factors that contribute to political socialization, including family, schools, group affiliations, demographic factors, mass media, opinion leaders, and events. Some of the key factors that shape political identity and opinions include:

• Family and home influences, which are strongest when both parents identify with the same political party.
• Schools, which teach patriotism, basic governmental functions and structure, and encourage political participation.
• Group affiliations, such as interest groups, labor unions, and professional organizations, which provide common bonds between people.
• Demographic factors, including occupation, race, gender, age, religion, region of country, income, education, and ethnicity.
• Mass media, which inform the public about issues and help set the political and public agendas.
• Opinion leaders, who may informally and unintentionally exercise influence due to their position, expertise, or personality.
• Events, which can instil positive or negative attitudes. For example, the Watergate scandal created a mistrust of government, while the 9/11 attacks increased patriotic spirit in many parts of the United States.

Globalization has also influenced American politics by increasing the degree to which the United States influences, and is influenced by, the ideals and values of other nations.

Public Opinion:

• Public opinion refers to shared attitudes of people about politics, public issues, or public policy.
• It is shaped by political culture and socialization, and can be analyzed according to distribution, intensity, and stability.
• Opinion polls are used to assess public opinion and can be classified as benchmark or tracking polls, entrance and exit polls, mass survey polls, or focus group polls.
• Sampling error is an unavoidable error in statistical analysis caused by choosing a sample that does not reflect the entire population.
• George Gallup helped develop the scientific polling process that includes random sampling, valid questions, controlled polling, and accurate reporting of results.
• Polling can impact elections and policy debates and is made more accurate with the use of computers.

Ideology:

• An ideology is a consistent set of beliefs about politics and public policy.
• Political ideologies can change over time and are categorized according to their position on the political spectrum.
• The political spectrum ranges from radical to liberal, moderate, conservative, and reactionary.
• Radical ideology favors rapid and fundamental change and is willing to resort to extreme means.
• Liberal ideology supports active government promotion of individual welfare and civil rights and accepts peaceful political and social change.
• Moderate ideology falls between liberal and conservative and may include some of both.
• Conservative ideology promotes a limited government role in economics, traditional values and lifestyles, and active government promotion of national security.
• Reactionary ideology advocates a return to a previous state of affairs, often an earlier social order or government.

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