notes 7!!

[kashmirdreamer]

chapter 4, courtesy of annie powers!!!

• In no other country have devices like federalism, an elected president, a bicameral legislature, and the separation of powers produced a political system capable of effective gov’t and protection of liberty
• Fertile soil and vast territory of US created numerous opportunities for people to get land and make a living- nation of small, independent farmers
• Constitution and physical advantages of land can’t by themselves explain persistence of nation’s democratic institutions

I. Political Culture

a. Def: a distinctive and patterned way of thinking about political and economic life ought to be carried out- politics effect economics
b. Americans think everyone should be equal politically but not economically- other nations think equality should be applied to economic and political life
c. The Political System

i. 5 important elements in American view of political system

1. liberty: believe should be free to do as they please, as long as don’t hurt others
2. equality: believe everybody should have an equal vote and chance to participate and succeed
3. democracy: think gov’t officials should be accountable to the people
4. civil duty: feel that people should take community affairs seriously and help out when they can
5. individual responsibility: individuals are responsible for their own actions and well-being

ii. believe that everybody should have equal chance to influence gov’t policy and hold public office- oppose idea of letting people have titles like “Lord” and Duke”
iii. (smaller maj.) believe people should be allowed to vote, even if can’t read or write or vote intelligently
iv. three questions

1. how do we know Americans share these beliefs?- kinds of books Americans read, speeches they hear, slogans to whicht they respond, political choices, observations of insightful foreign visitors, personality tests and opinion polls
2. how can we explain existence in our society of behavior that is inconsistent with values?

a. people act contrary to their beliefs
b. self-interest and social circumstances also shape bevior (besides values)

3. why has there been so much political conflict in our history, if there is agreement on certain political views?

d. The Economic System
i. Support free-enterprise economic system
ii. People support gov’t regulation of business to keep some firms from becoming too powerful and to correct specific abuses
iii. Americans more willing to tolerate economic inequality than political inequality- believe in equality of opportunity but not equality of results
iv. leaders of liberal groups believe that minorities and women should get preferential treatment, because they think disadvantages they face are result of failures of economic system, not individual- but still think earnings should be based on ability, oppose idea of having top limit on what people can earn
v. dislike preferential hiring programs and use of quotas to deal w/racial inequality
vi. commitment to economic individualism and personal responsibility- ethic of self-reliance
vii. most popular is individualism view of social policy
viii. believe gov’t should help needy and regulate business

II. Comparing America with Other Nations

a. Political System

i. Swedes defer to decisions of political experts and specialist who work for the gov’t

1. few participate in politics in any other way than voting
2. rarely challenge gov’t decisions in court
3. believe leaders and legislatures ought to decide issues on basis of “what is best” more than “what people want”
4. value equality as much as or more than liberty

ii. Comparing Japanese and American values

1. American

a. Individualism, competition, and equality in their politic, economic, and social relations
b. Rules and treating others fairly, but impersonally, w/due regard for their rights

2. Japanese

a. maintaining good relations w/colleagues, having decisions made by groups, preserving social harmoney, and displaying respect for hierarchy
b. sensitive to personal needs of others, avoiding conflict, and reacing decisions through discussion rather than application of the rules

iii. Americans (lesser extenent, British) have stronger sense of civic duty- belief that one has an obiligation to participate in civic and political affairs and civic competence- belief that one can affect gov’t policies (whereas Germany, Italy, and Mexico did not hold these beliefs as strongly)
iv. Americans have less trust in gov’t, but have confidence in country’s police, armed forces, and business and are very patriotic

b. Economic System

i. Sweden more inclined to favor eqaulity of results over equality of opportunity
ii. Comparing Democrats of American and Social Democrats of Sweden

1. Swedish believe more in giving their workers equal pay and putting top limit on incomes
2. Americans more likely to think freedom is more important than equality and less likely to think gov’t should give citizens basic standard or living and that hard work goes unrewarded
3. less income inequality in Sweden- gov’t sees to that

c. Role of Religion

i. U.S. has been one of the most religious countries in the world

1. more likely to believe in God, pray on daily basis and to acknowledge clear standards of right and wrong
2. more than 80% (in 1990 - 1993 survey) identified themselves as religious

i. only 1% of Americans claimed they were Athiests
ii. civil rights movement of 1950s and 1960s led mostly by black religious leaders

III. The Sources of Political Culture

a. Constutition dealt with effort to reconcile personal liberty with needs of social control
b. Long-standing distrust of authority and religious belief that human nature is fundamentally depraved

i. since no one is born innocent, no one could be trusted w/power
ii. consitution designed to curb darker side of human nature to prevent everyone’s rights from being in jeopardy

c. people came to accept that liberty and orderly political change could coexist

i got lazy

• class consciousness- thinking of oneself as a worker whose interests are in opposition to those of management or vice versa



• two opposed camps
• orthodox side- people who believe morality is as important as or more important than self-expression and that moral rules derive from the commands of God or the laws of nature- commands and laws that are relatively clear, unchanging and independent of individual preferences


• progressive side- people who thinkp ersonal freedom is as important or more important than certain traditional moral rules and that those rules must be evaluated in light of the circumstances of modern life- circumtances that are quite complex, changeable, and dependent on individual preferences
• political efficacy- citizen’s capacity to understand and influence political events
• internal efficacy- ability to understand and take part in political affairs
• external efficacy- ability to make the system respond to the citizenry

~ Annie