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Magleby & Light Government by the People Chapter 4 Political Culture and Ideology

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Controversy Over the Creation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Introduced in Congress just days after Kings assassination in 1968, but not passed until 1983 Support was strong among groups such as labor unions and the National Football league Yet states such as AZ, VA, and SC were opposed to the idea In 2008, though racial tensions were never far from the headlines, candidates from both parties celebrated Kings accomplishments

These changing attitudes toward King exemplify a shift in political culture in the U.S.

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Defining the U.S. Political Culture

Widely shared beliefs, values, and norms about how citizens relate to government and to one another
Suffrage Social capital

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Shared Values
Equality

Liberty Individualism

Respect for the Common Person

Democratic Consensus

Justice and the Rule of Law Patriotism

Optimism and Idealism
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Where We Learn the American Political Culture

Family
Number of times a week American families say that

Schools

they eat together

Schools teach an idealized view of the nations slogans and symbols

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Where We Learn the American Political Culture

Peers and Community
Research shows that in heterogeneous communities, political participation tends to be higher, with more contested and competitive elections, and with more political debate than in homogeneous communities

Religion
Those raised in religious households tend to be socialized to contribute to society and to get involved in their communities

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Where We Learn the American Political Culture

Media
More than two-thirds of Americans report that they receive all or most of their news from television

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The American Dream

Coming from humble beginnings, Oprah Winfreytelevision host, movie actress, and one of the highest-paid people in the countryepitomizes the American Dream

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Political and Economic Change

The Industrial Transformation The Great Depression and the New Deal

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Political Ideology:
A Consistent Pattern of Beliefs About Political Values and the Role of Government Liberalism A belief that government can and should achieve justice and equality of opportunity

-Classical liberals

-Contemporary liberals

-Criticisms of liberalism

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Political Ideology:
A Consistent Pattern of Beliefs About Political Values and the Role of Government Conservatism A belief that limited government ensures order, competitive markets, and personal opportunity

-Traditional conservatives

-Criticisms of Conservatism

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Liberalism and Conservatism

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Socialism
An economic and governmental system based on public ownership of the means of production and exchange

Bernard Sanders, a self-described socialist, is a Congressman from Vermont

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Libertarianism
An ideology that cherishes individual liberty and insists on a minimal government, promoting a freemarket economy, a noninterventionist foreign policy, and an absence of regulation in moral, economic, and social life
Bob Barr (center), Libertarian candidate for president in 2008
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People in Politics: Rachel Carson

A leading scientist in the 1950s and 1960s and author of Silent Spring
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Political Ideology and the American People

Figure 4-1

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Political Ideology and the American People

Figure 4-2
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I Am Very Patriotic

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World Values Survey Chart

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Attitudes About Business and Labor

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Sylvan: This image looks really low-res when blown up.

Differences in Political Ideology

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