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unit four review: political ideologies and beliefs
overview
American political beliefs are shaped by founding ideals, core values, linkage institutions (e.g., elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media in all its forms), and the changing demographics of citizens.
These beliefs about government, politics, and the individual’s role in the political system influence the creation of public policies.
American political culture is comprised of citizens’ beliefs about government, including their perceptions, relationships, and interactions relative to one another and to their government.
Core beliefs about government center around different interpretations and applications of political values, such as individualism (the focus on individual rights and responsibilities), the rule of law (the notion that the law is supreme over all persons), limited government (the idea that the government’s power is enumerated and constrained by constitutional rules), and equality of opportunity.
Citizens learn of and develop attitudes about government through political socialization. Several factors contribute to political socialization including family, schools, peers, and social environments.
How much influence these factors have on a person’s political beliefs relates in turn to lifecycle effects, dispositions that change with age or membership in a group experiencing the same events at the same time, and generational effects, which involve exposure across ages and groups to the same political information.
Both lifecycle and generational effects are fueled by past and present political events.
American political culture, through expressed citizen opinions, influences governmental institutions in the formation, implementation, and evaluation of public policy.
For example, how people view the principles of freedom and individualism shape opinions about domestic and economic policy, including the appropriate range and types of such policies.
The tension behind citizen beliefs about the appropriate role of government is revealed through policy debates and legislation.
Some argue that government should take an active role in promoting social equality and ensuring economic opportunity, while others warn that excessive regulation violates individual freedoms.
Major public policy programs are rooted in ideological trends that span decades. For example, ideology impacts the nature and extent to which the federal government shares powers with state governments and how it regulates the marketplace over time, as evidenced by debates about monetary and fiscal policies.
Globalization has had an impact on U.S. political beliefs and public policy. How the government determines the nature and direction of social policy, such as that involving immigration or health-care reform, is also impacted by ideological pressure from the right and left, and foreign policy is influenced by citizens’ beliefs about the U.S. government’s role on the world stage.
essential questions
How are American political beliefs formed and how do they evolve over time?
● How do political ideology and core values influence government policy making?
influences on American political culture
Big Idea #1: Citizen beliefs about government are shaped by the intersection of demographics, political culture, and dynamic social change.
Define Political Socialization | List the factors that contribute to Political Socialization | Explain the role that Political Socialization plays in forming Political Attitudes. |
|---|---|---|
A lifelong process by which people form their ideas about politics and acquire political values. | FamilyEducational SystemPeer GroupMass Media | Civic Pride/PatriotismPolitical efficacy (Faith or distrust of government institutions) |
As a result of globalization, U.S. political culture has both influenced and been influenced by the values of other countries.
● Generational and lifecycle effects also contribute to the political socialization that influences an individual’s political attitudes.
● The relative importance of major political events to the development of individual political attitudes is an example of political socialization
measuring public opinion
Big Idea #2: Public opinion is measured through scientific polling, and the results of public opinion polls influence public policies and institutions.
Define | Examples | |
|---|---|---|
Opinion Polls | An assessment of public opinion obtained by questioning a representative sample of the population | Gallup polling on American public opinion on various political issues |
Benchmark/Tracking Polls | Benchmark-initial poll on a candidate and issues on which campaign strategy is based and against which later polls are compared Tracking-Continuous surveys that enable a campaign or news organization to chart a candidate’s daily rise or fall in support | 2016 state by state tracking polls for the major presidential candidates |
Entrance and Exit Polls | Entrance-public opinion surveys taken before voters cast their ballotsExit-polls conducted as voters leave selected polling places on Election Day asking how they voted | 2000 election projections badly skewed due to exit poll data |
methods of polling
Define | Examples | |
|---|---|---|
Sampling Techniques | Ways of determining a sample to take from a larger universe | Random sampling, non-scientific internet or call in polls |
Identification of respondents | Self-identifications of respondents in various different demographic categories | Census data |
Mass Survey | A way to measure public opinion by interviewing a large sample of the population | Readers Digest Poll 1936, various other large opinion studies |
Focus Group | A small group of individuals who are led in discussion by a professional consultant in order to gather opinions on and responses to candidates and issues | Professional pollsters do these in modern campaigns |
Sampling Error | An error that occurs when a sample somehow does not represent the target population | Readers Digest Poll 1936 |
Type/Format of Questions | A polling error that can occur when questions are either too vague or leading such as in a push poll | McCain South Carolina Primary 2000 |
the impact of polling
Answer the following prompts using terminology and examples from the elements of a scientific poll and methods of polling. | |
|---|---|
Explain how public opinion data can impact elections. | Voter dissatisfaction with the economy in Midwestern states leading to a Trump victory in 2016. |
Explain how public opinion data can impact policy debates | Might choose how a candidate takes a policy stand...example Democrats in 2020 warming up to more liberal policy positions on things like Medicare for All |
The relationship between scientific polling and elections and policy debates is affected by the importance of public opinion as a source of political influence in a given election or policy debate and the reliability of public opinion data.
political ideologies
Big Idea #3: Widely held political ideologies shape policy debates and choices in American policies.
Explain the policy debates of each party/ideology | Democrats (Liberal) | Republicans(Conservative) |
|---|---|---|
Immigration | We need to urgently fix our broken immigration system-which tears families apart and keeps workers in the shadows | We oppose any form of amnesty for those who, by breaking the law, have disadvantaged those who have opposed it |
Death Penalty | Oppose-its not a deterrent and innocent people are in jeopardy | Favor-the death penalty is necessary and effective |
Gay Marriage | Like every other American-have the right to marry the person they love | We do not accept the Supreme Court’s redefinition of marriage and we urge its reversal |
Legalization of Marijuana | Support | Against |
Military/Defense Spending | Decreased spending | Increased spending |
Social Security | The responsibility for retirement finances rests with the individual | We should reinstate the system’s sustainability without privatizing or cutting back benefits |
Affirmative Action | We should drastically increase the current amount of programs | We do not support minority groups and they should not receive any favorable treatment |
Government Spending | The government should not make cuts to public spending to reduce the national debt-they should cut military spending instead | The government should make cuts to public spending to reduce the national debt and should increase taxes |
Taxes | We believe the wealthiest Americans and large corporations must pay their fair share of taxes | Consider the establishment of a pro-growth tax code a moral imperative…we oppose tax policies that deliberately divide Americans or promote class warfare |
Abortion | We believe that every woman should have access to quality reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortions | We assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed |
International Relations | Believe that global institutions and multilateral organizations have a powerful role to play and are an important amplifier of American strength and influence | We are the party of peace through strength. |
political culture
Because the U.S. is a democracy with a diverse society, public policies generated at any given time reflect the attitudes and beliefs of citizens who choose to participate in politics at that 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.
economic terms
Keynesian Economics | Monetary Policy | Fiscal Policy | |
|---|---|---|---|
Define | Increased government expenditures and lower taxes to stimulate demand “demand-side policy” | Government policy that attempts to manage the economy by controlling the money supply and interest rates | Government policy to regulate the economy |
Explain | When the economy is bad, people want to save their money which results in less economic activity therefore, the government should spend more money when people do not have work | Made up of actions of the Federal Reserve Bank-modifying the interest rates, buying or selling government bonds, changing the amount of money banks are required to keep (reserve requirements) | Change in taxes Change in government spending |
economics and political ideology
Describe and Explain different political ideologies regarding: | Liberal | Conservative | Libertarian |
|---|---|---|---|
Describe and Explain the role of Government in regulating the marketplace | More presence in the marketplace | Less presence in the marketplace | Support free markets |
Briefly describe each stance on the policy. | Taxation:increase Welfare:support Minimum Wage:raise Government Spending:Cut military spending | Taxation:Stay the same or decrease Welfare:against Minimum Wage:Against an increase Government Spending:Decrease spending | Taxation:The government should not force people to pay taxes Welfare:Generally opposed Minimum Wage:Does not support Government Spending:Repeal income tax, abolish IRS |
social issues and political ideology
Describe and Explain different political ideologies regarding: | Liberal | Conservative | Libertarian |
|---|---|---|---|
Describe and Explain the role of the government in addressing social issues. | Government should actively protect individual rights | Government should intervene more to regulate social morals | Government should stay out of social issues |
Briefly describe each stance on the policy. | Abortion: Women’s choice Gay Rights:support Death Penalty:against Gun Control: More regulation | Abortion: Against Gay Rights:against Death Penalty:support Gun Control: Supports the right to bear arms | Abortion: The government should stay out Gay Rights:Sexual orientation should have no impact on the government’s treatment of individuals Death Penalty:against Gun Control: Support the right to bear arms |