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Chapter Four

American Political Culture

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4 | 2

Political Efficacy

• Political efficacy: citizen’s capacity to understand and influence political events

“Can I make a difference in this country?”“Do politicians care what people like me think?”“Does my voice and vote count?

QUESTIONS FOR GRAPH

1. What is the major trend shown in this graph?

2. Define “political efficacy.”3. What types of things can affect the

American levels of efficacy?4. Why do you think levels of efficacy dipped

in the mid-1960’s and in the mid-1990’s 5. How do levels of efficacy affect the

functions of democracy?Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4 | 3


Figure 4.2: External Political Efficacy Index, 1952-2004

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Insert figure 4.1


Political Culture

• What is Culture?

• Political Culture:A distinctive and patterned way of thinking

about how political and economic life ought to be carried out which is passed from generation to generation


Modern Democracies with Different Political Cultures

• Most modern democracies have vastly difference political cultures--why?

• ______________differences are the physical characteristics of a population such as:

age, sex, marital status, family size, education, geographic location, and occupation.

• __________________ of individual countries plays a large role in the development of class consciousness

• Differing ideas of the proper ____________________.


American Political Values

• ____________– rights and freedoms• ____________ – equal vote; equal chance to

participate and succeed• ____________ – government is accountable to

the people• _____________ – take community affairs

seriously and become involved when possible• _________________ – individuals responsible

for their own actions and well-being


Beliefs About Economics

• Americans support ________________but support some limits on marketplace freedom

• Americans believe in_________________butnot equality of result

• Americans have a widely shared commitment to ____________________


The Civic Role of Religion

• Americans are _____________ than most citizens in European democracies

• Both liberals and conservatives have used the ______________ to promote _______ change– Civil rights movement was led by black

religious leaders– In the 1980s and 1990s, conservative

Christians became a strong political force in all levels of politics


American Political Culture

• Americans tend to assert their ____________

• Emphasize _______________, competition, equality, following rules, treating others fairly but impersonally

• Some other countries put more emphasis on ___________ and ____________


Sources of Political Culture

• American Revolution was essentially over liberty—asserting _____________

• Widespread (not universal) _____________ permitted by Constitution

• Absence of an established national religion made ________________ inevitable

• ____________ instills how we think about world and politics

• Not a high degree of _________ consciousness


The “Culture War”

• The cultural clash in America is a battle over __________

• The culture war differs from political disputes

• The culture conflict is animated by deep differences in people’s beliefs about morality……. does it really?

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Two Cultural Camps in the “Cultural War”

• Orthodox:_____________ is as, or more, important than self-expression; morality derives from fixed rules from God (anti-drugs, anti-abortion, anti-gay rights, anti-sex education etc…)

• Progressive:____________________ is as, or more, important than tradition; rules change based on circumstances of modern life and individual preferences (more open to above mentioned topics)


Mistrust of Government• There is evidence that mistrust has increased since the

late 1950s• Causes: Watergate, the Vietnam War and Iran-Contra scandal, Clinton

impeachment, Iraq war, big bank failures

• Public confidence is likely to ebb and flow with circumstances

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