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American Political Culture

American Political Culture. Wilson Chapter 4 AP Government. What is Political Culture?. The widely-shared beliefs, values, and norms that citizens share about their government A distinctive and patterned way of thinking about how political and economic life ought to be carried out.

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American Political Culture

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  1. American Political Culture Wilson Chapter 4 AP Government

  2. What is Political Culture? • The widely-shared beliefs, values, and norms that citizens share about their government • A distinctive and patterned way of thinking about how political and economic life ought to be carried out.

  3. CHARACTERISTICS • Liberty • Rugged individualism (is this always the case?) • Equality • Opportunity more than result • Political more than economic equality • American Dream • FDR’s second bill of rights • Conflict between liberty ( capitalism) and equality (democracy): Progressive Era; New Deal; Great Society

  4. CHARACTERISTICS • Democracy • Civic Duty (but we don’t know much about political affairs) • Mistrust of Government (since 1960s) • Political Efficacy-capacity to understand (individual) and influence (external) political events. • Political tolerance- in the abstract vs. concrete • Pragmatism - we’re less ideological • Justice- “government of laws, not men”

  5. More on Justice… • Policies and laws that adhere to the rule of law must adhere to these rules: • Generality • Prospectivity (apply to the future) • Publicity (cannot be secret) • Authority • Due Process

  6. Sources of Political Culture • History • Religion • Family What has shaped your political identity and culture?

  7. Culture War • Cultural clash over values vs. economic clash over wealth • Orthodox (morality) • Progressive (personal freedom) • Clash over: abortion, gay rights, drug use, school prayer and pornography. How is this war different than political disputes? Why has this war grown in recent years?

  8. Mistrust of Government • The “American Malaise” - crisis of confidence evident in Americans’ growing disrespect for government, schools, churches, and institutions. • Jimmy Carter Why don’t we trust our government? What don’t we trust about it?

  9. America vs. the World • Swedes - deferential in nature; harmony; equality in results more important than equality in opportunity • Japanese - Respect authority; group decisions • British- sense of civic duty; rectify unjust laws • Americans- strong sense of religion in politics IS THE U.S. REALLY APATHETIC?

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