– An Ideology Is A Coherent Set Of Beliefs And

– An ideology is a coherent set of beliefs and thoughts about politics and government – Three most common in America are conservative, liberal, and moderate

– stress that people should be responsible for themselves and should not rely on government intervention – favor free-market solutions to problems rather than having the government regulate business – favors lower taxes – Social Conservatives – makeup a powerful wing of the conservative movement » Support government action on social issues » Pro-life » Pro-prayer in school » Anti-drug

– believe that government should be used to remedy social problems and economic inequalities – support government regulation of the economy – support government efforts to redress past social injustices (affirmative action) – strictly enforce separation of church and state – Pro-choice

– make up the largest portion of the American public – as of 1993, nearly half of all Americans identified themselves as moderates – there is no coherent ideology

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People are not well informed about the issues facing government, and they may have contradictory attitudes The least informed are the least likely to participate in politics.

The US has always been a nation of immigrants •America is becoming more and more diverse all of the time •Minority groups have assimilated many basic American values, such as the principle of equality

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– America has long been considered a “melting pot,” but many people now speak of a new minority majority • They feel that America will eventually cease to have a white majority • It is estimated that all the minority groups combined should pass the 50% mark by the middle of this century

Demographic changes are associated with political changes •

The regional shift – over the last 50 years, much of the growth of America’s population has been centered in the South and the West – movement TO “Sun Belt” states such as Florida, California, and Texas FROM “rust belt” states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan – Process of reapportionment occurs every ten years, causing a massive change in representation of states – New York has lost about 1/3 of its Representatives over the last 50 years.

– Fastest growing age group in America is citizens over 65 – By 2020, there will be only two working Americans for every person over the age of 65

*Gray Power” – strong coalition of the elderly voting against programs that would take money and benefits away from them

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Political Socialization •

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Process through which a person acquires knowledge, a set of political attitudes, and forms opinions about the political system and other social issues Only a small portion of this process is formal learning, informal learning is much more important

– family » important because of its monopoly on two crucial resources in the early years – time and emotional commitment » although many children like to think of themselves as “independent minded,” you can fairly accurately predict their political leanings by knowing the tendencies of their parents

– mass media » referred to as “the new parent” » television, without a doubt, is the most common source of political information » recent studies have attributed the lack of political knowledge of the youth to their media consumption habits – older people pay more attention to the news than younger people

– Schools » Governments throughout the world use schools as an attempt to instill a commitment to the basic values of their system

• Aging increases one’s political participation and the strength of their party affiliation • Political behavior is to some degree a learned behavior • Governments largely aim their socialization efforts at the young because one’s political orientations grow firmer as one grows older

– Public opinion is what Americans believe (and think they believe) about politics and public policy. • Fluctuates over time • President usually has the greatest success in shaping public opinion in the area of foreign policy – during times of national crises, public opinion and support for the President usually increases

•Intensity – how strongly people feel about a particular issue •Stability – public opinion on issues changes over time Efficacy – the degree to which people think that they can change government

– education level » better educated tend to be better informed, more likely to vote, and are more tolerant of opposing views than their uneducated counterparts – race/ethnicity » racial and ethnic groups that tend to have lower income levels tend to be more liberal than other Americans » Blacks and many Hispanics are more likely to support liberal social programs

– religion » Jews and African-American Protestants are generally the most liberal of religious groups » Catholics tend to be liberal, but many are conservative on social issues » Devout white Protestants tend to be more conservative (especially in the South, where white Protestants who attend church regularly are among the strongest supporters of the GOP) – gender – women are more liberal than men

• Public opinion polling was first created by George Gallup in 1932 • Polls rely on a sample of the population – group to be measured is called the “population” – pollster takes a “random sample” » key to accuracy of opinion polls is random sampling » there is always a certain amount of risk of inaccuracy involved, known as the “sampling error” » proper techniques must be followed to remain within the margin of error » typical poll of about 1000 to 1500 has a sampling error of + or – 3 percent

• Most polling today is done on the phone with numbers selected through “random-digit dialing” – used by the media to project election winners before most votes have been counted – criticized in presidential elections because the media may actually declare a winner before the polls have closed on the West Coast

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Polls have revealed time and time again that the American public has a dismally low level of political knowledge •

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Less than half of the public can name their representative in the House of Representatives

14% of Americans in a 1998 survey could not even find their own country on a world map

– Americans have many different ways to participate in politics, but voting in presidential elections is the most common form of participation – The US has a participatory political culture (participation is not required), only 49% voted in the 1996 election, and 67% in 2000. » running for office

• Conventional – these are the widely accepted modes of influencing government » voting » trying to persuade others » ringing doorbells for a petition – Most adult Americans, when participating in politics, will vote in an election, but only a minority of people will do more than that.

• Unconventional – activities that are often dramatic, such as protesting, civil disobedience, and even violence

• In the US, participation is a class-based activity – citizens of a higher socio-economic status participate more than others • Minority groups are below average in terms of political participation • When blacks, Hispanics, and whites of the SAME educations and incomes are compared, the minorities participate more in politics