government in america: people, politics, and policy...
TRANSCRIPT
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Public Opinion and Political Public Opinion and Political Action Action
Chapter 6
Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy Thirteenth Edition, and Texas Edition
Edwards/Wattenberg/Lineberry
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Introduction Introduction
l Public Opinion – The distribution of the population’s beliefs about politics and policy issues
l Demography – The science of population changes
l Census – A valuable tool for understanding population changes – Required every 10 years by the Constitution
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The American People The American People
l The Immigrant Society – United States is a nation of immigrants. – Three waves of Immigration:
l Northwestern Europeans (prior to late 19 th Century) l Southern and eastern Europeans (late 19 th and early 20 th centuries)
l Hispanics and Asians (late 20 th century)
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The American People The American People
l The American Melting Pot – Melting Pot: the mixing of cultures, ideas, and peoples that has changed the American nation
– Minority Majority: the emergence of a non Caucasian majority
– Political culture is an overall set of values widely shared within a society.
Figure 6.1Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008
The American People The American People
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The American People The American People
l The American Melting Pot (continued) – African Americans face a legacy of racism. – Hispanics are the largest minority group faced with the problem of illegal immigration. l SimpsonMazzoli Act: requires employers document citizenship of employee
– Asian immigration has been driven by a new class of professional workers.
– Native Americans: indigenous and disadvantaged
Figure 6.2Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008
The American People The American People
l The Regional Shift – Population shift from east to west
– Reapportionment: the process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the results of the census
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The American People The American People
l The Graying of America – Fastest growing age group is over 65 – Potential drain on Social Security
l Pay as you go system l In 1942, 42 workers per retiree l In 2040, 2 workers per retiree
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How Americans Learn About How Americans Learn About Politics: Political Socialization Politics: Political Socialization l Political Socialization:
– “the process through which and individual acquires [their] particular political orientation”
– Orientation grow firmer with age l The Process of Political Socialization
– The Family l Political leanings of children often mirror their parents’ leanings
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How Americans Learn About How Americans Learn About Politics: Political Socialization Politics: Political Socialization
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How Americans Learn About How Americans Learn About Politics: Political Socialization Politics: Political Socialization l The Process of Political Socialization (continued)
– The Mass Media l Chief source of information as children age l Generation gap is viewing television news
– School l Used by government to socialize young into political culture l Bettereducated citizens are more likely to vote and are more knowledgeable about politics and policy.
l Political Learning Over a Lifetime – Aging increases political participation and strength of party attachment.
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How American Learn About How American Learn About Politics: Political Socialization Politics: Political Socialization
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Measuring Public Opinion and Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information Political Information
l How Polls Are Conducted – Sample: a small proportion of people who are chosen in a survey to be representative of the whole
– Random Sampling: the key technique employed by sophisticated survey researchers which operates on the principle that everyone should have an equal probability of being selected for the sample
– Sampling Error: the level of confidence in the findings of a public opinion poll
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Measuring Public Opinion and Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information Political Information
l The Role of Polls in American Democracy – Polls help politicians detect public preferences. – But critics say polls make politicians think more about following than leading public l Even though politicians do not track opinion to make policy
– Polls may distort election process
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Measuring Public Opinion and Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information Political Information
l The Role of Polls in American Democracy (continued) – Exit Polls: used by the media to predict election day winners l May discourage people from voting l 2000 presidential election in Florida
– Question wording may affect survey results
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Measuring Public Opinion and Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information Political Information
l What Polls Reveal About Americans’ Political Information – Americans don’t know much about politics. – Americans may know their basic beliefs but not how that affects policies of the government.
l The Decline of Trust in Government – Since 1964, trust in government has declined. – Trust in government has gone up somewhat since September 11.
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Measuring Public Opinion and Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information Political Information
l Citizens Show Little Knowledge of Geography
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Measuring Public Opinion and Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information Political Information
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What Americans Value: What Americans Value: Political Ideologies Political Ideologies
l Political Ideology: – A coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy, and public purpose
l Who Are the Liberals and Conservatives? – Predominance of conservative over liberal thinking – Currently about 38% conservative, 24% liberal, 38% moderate l Gender gap: women tend to be less conservative than men l Ideological variation by religion too
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What Americans Value: Political What Americans Value: Political Ideologies Ideologies
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What Americans Value: What Americans Value: Political Ideologies Political Ideologies
l Do People Think in Ideological Terms? – Ideologues: those who think in ideological terms (12 percent)
– Group Benefits voters: view politics through party label (42 percent)
– Nature of the Times: view of politics based on whether times are good or bad (24 percent)
– No issue content: vote routinely for party or personality (22 percent)
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How Americans Participate in How Americans Participate in Politics Politics
l Political Participation: all the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue
l Conventional Participation – Voting in elections – Working in campaigns or running for office – Contacting elected officials
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How Americans Participate in How Americans Participate in Politics Politics
l Protest as Participation – Protest: a form of political participation designed to achieve policy changes through dramatic and unconventional tactics
– Civil disobedience: a form of political participation that reflects a conscious decision to break a law believed to be immoral and to suffer the consequences
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How Americans Participate in How Americans Participate in Politics Politics
l Class, Inequality, and Participation
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Understanding Public Opinion Understanding Public Opinion and Political Action and Political Action
l Public Attitudes Toward the Scope of Government – Many people have no opinion about scope of government.
– Public opinion is inconsistent, which may lead to policy gridlock.
l Democracy, Public Opinion, and Political Action – Americans select leaders, but do they do so wisely? – If people know little about candidates’ issues, how can they?
– People vote more for performance than policy.
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Summary Summary
l American society is ethnically diverse and changing.
l Knowing public opinion is important to a democracy, just as polling has costs and benefits.
l Americans know little about politics. l Political participation is generally low.