American Political Culture

1. American Political Culture Why are Americans different from other countries and each other? This presentation is the property of Dr. Kevin Parsneau for use by him and his current students. No other person may use or reprint without his permission.

2. Important Questions about American Political Culture. • What do we mean by political culture? • What is American political culture and where did it come from? • Is there an anti-democratic part of American democracy?

3. Political Culture Definition: Widely shared set of norms, beliefs and values concerning the relationship of citizens to their government. (McClosky and Zaller 1984)

4. Some Aspects of American Political CultureThese aren’t as clear as they might seem and not everyone would make the same list. • Liberty • Individualism • Distrust of Government • Equality • Popular Sovereignty • Majority Rule with Minority Rights • Positive Role for Government

5. Liberty • We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. • Liberty as fewer limitations? • laissez faire capitalism • Taxation

6. Some Aspects of American Political CultureThese aren’t as clear as they might seem and not everyone would make the same list. • Liberty • Individualism • Distrust of Government • Equality • Popular Sovereignty • Majority Rule with Minority Rights • Positive Role for Government

7. Individualism • Individualism as a personal basis for rights • Separation between the public and private spheres • Civil liberties

8. Some Aspects of American Political CultureThese aren’t as clear as they might seem and not everyone would make the same list. • Liberty • Individualism • Distrust of Government • Equality • Popular Sovereignty • Majority Rule with Minority Rights • Positive Role for Government

9. Equality Equality of Outcomes vs. Equality of Opportunity

10. Equality • Equality of Outcome Principle: A society’s commitment to equality is best measured by whether its citizens generally achieve equal levels of income. • Equality of Opportunity Principle: A society’s commitment to equality is best measured by whether its citizens generally have the same opportunities to achieve income.

11. Some Aspects of American Political CultureThese aren’t as clear as they might seem and not everyone would make the same list. • Liberty • Individualism • Distrust of Government • Equality • Popular Sovereignty • Majority Rule with Minority Rights • Positive Role for Government

12. Some Aspects of American Political CultureThese aren’t as clear as they might seem and not everyone would make the same list. • Liberty • Individualism • Distrust of Government • Equality • Popular Sovereignty • Majority Rule with Minority Rights • Positive Role for Government

13. Sources of American Political Culture • 1. England: “Glorious Revolution" (1689) • 2. Classical Liberal Philosophers • 3. Iroquois Confederacy • 4. History on the continent

14. Glorious Revolution In the Glorious Revolution in England, parliament and its supporters overthrew King James II and ended absolute monarchy by imposing a Bill of Rights and limiting the power of the new monarchy (William and Mary).

15. Sources of American Political Culture • 1. England: “Glorious Revolution" (1689) • 2. Classical Liberal Philosophers • 3. Iroquois Confederacy • 4. History on the continent

16. Classical Liberals • Thomas Hobbes • The Leviathan (1651) • John Locke • Second Treatise on Civil Government (1689) • Jean-Jacque Rousseau • The Social Contract 1762

17. Classical Liberals • State of Nature • Social Contract • Nasty, brutish and short • Government as arbitrator of economic exchange • Some limits on government • Born free but everywhere in chains