Alexis de Tocqueville’s Reasons for U.S. Democracy

1. Alexis de Tocqueville’sReasons for U.S. Democracy • No feudal aristocracy, minimal taxes, few legal restraints • Westward movement provided vast, cheap land and opportunity • Nation of small independent farmers • Political culture

2. American Political Culture • Def’n: A patterned set of ways of thinking about how politics and governing ought to be carried out • We take it for granted—ex. Peaceful transfer of power • Not the same as political IDEOLOGY—consistent sets of views as to the policies government ought to pursue • 5 important elements: Liberty, Equality, Democracy, Civic Duty, Individual responsibility • Americans are more willing to tolerate economic inequality than political inequality • Regions can have subcultures—American South differs from NE…south more conservative • Political culture can be consensual or conflictual. Consensual cultures come to compromises—conflictual ones come to blows

3. Questions of Political Culture • How do we know that people share these beliefs? Public opinion polls, speeches, etc. Talk of “un-Americanism” • How can we account for inconsistent behavior? (Civil Rights took a long time)?--beliefs contradict one another and are not consistently prioritized • Why are Americans eager to claim that they are tolerant and agree in principle with freedom of speech, religion, etc., yet in actual practice they are not as politically tolerant as they claim to be? Priorities change. • Why so much political conflict?Priorities change; generally very little on foreign policy (Iraq ’03 a big exception). Democracies also value debate. Debate about how “consensual” American politics has been historically

4. Comparing American Political Culture to the World • Swedes: Favor equal pay, economic equality with earnings cap. Americans: hard work should be rewarded. Swedes also defer to technical experts, don’t sue, believe in “what is best” and value harmony • Japanese favor good relations with colleagues and respect hierarchy • Civic Duty: Almond/Verba study shows US/UK citizens have more sense of civic duty (1959-60), even though Americans don’t vote as regularly as Europeans • Americans more willing to fight for the country • Religion: Americans much more religious than Europeans—this shows up in politics • Both liberals and conservatives use the pulpit for politics (Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Pat Robertson)

5. Sources of Political Culture • Historical roots • Legal-sociological factors • The Culture War

6. Historical Sources of Political Culture • American Revolution essentially over liberty • Long-standing distrust of power • Constitution encourages participation, reconciles personal liberty with need for social control • Adversarial culture • Transition of 1800: Reconciled need and suspicion of government, legitimated “loyal opposition”

7. Legal-Sociological Sources of Political Culture • Widespread, but not universal participation permitted by Constitution • Religious tradition a source of cleavages • Protestant “work ethic”: Work, save money, obey law, do good works • Churches are political • Family unit—greater freedom of children leads t belief in rights/acceptance of diverse views • Absence of Class Consciousness: Most Americans consider themselves “middle class” • Belief that you can get ahead by working hard

8. Culture War • Culture War between Orthodox (God gives fixed moral rules) and Progressive (believe personal freedom more important) • More Progressives than before • Rise of technology (particularly among young) makes mobilization easier • Low degree of tolerance for divergent views • Battle over values, not money • This makes compromise almost impossible • Conflict is more profound • Different standards of public and private morality • Affects people’s trust of government and political efficacy • War between and withinreligious denominations

9. Political Efficacy • Political Efficacy—a citizen’s capacity to understand and influence political events • 2 parts--- • Internal efficacy—confidence in one’s own ability to understand and take part in politics. Remained stable over past few decades. • External efficacy—a belief that the system will respond to what individuals do. Sharp decreases over the past few decades • American efficacy higher than Europeans

10. Mistrust of Government • Mistrust of leaders—NOT system. This is historically the norm. • Evident since 1960s • Jimmy Carter “Malaise” speech in 1979 • Polls showed people trust government less to do “what’s right” • Diminished trust in Presidency/Congress, less so in Supreme Court (changing) • Increased trust in state/local government • Causes: Watergate, Vietnam (but don’t fully explain) • Most Americans support rights in principle…but not in concrete situations • Even so, most willing to tolerate divergent views, allow expression • Unpopular groups survive: Most don’t act on beliefs, officeholders more tolerant than general public, Courts insulated from public opinion