PSCI 1040 1st Edition Lecture 1 Outline of Last Lecture I N A Outline of Current Lecture II American Political Culture A What is Political Culture III Revolution of Classical Liberalism IV Logic of Liberalism Why a Constitutional Democracy V Why Liberalism in early America A American flavor of Liberalism B Implications of Classical Liberalism VI Perpetuation of Liberal Political Culture VII Shared Political Culture vs Shared Ideology Current Lecture I II III What is Political Culture Shared beliefs about why we have government what it should do and how it should operate The norms a government ought to achieve In the US we adhere to Classical Liberalism The Revolution of Classical Liberalism Traditional Framework People existed because of their community community is central Man is defined by the society in which he lives Needs of the society outweigh individuals Liberal Philosophy Society exists because of the choices of individuals Needs of individual paramount to needs of society In 1700 s John Locke declared society exists because of people who choose to be a group individuals matter and all agree to a social contract Logic of Liberalism Popular Sovereignty government has to reflect will of the people Equality These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute Liberty IV V VI Populism majority rule Liberalism majority rule with caveats which are a core of liberty people have Bill of Rights is an example of caveats in current constitution 4 CORE VALUES Liberty Equality Popular Sovereignty and Self Reliance Why Liberalism in Early US Who were the Founding Fathers They were middle class economic entrepreneurs religious dissidents Liked the idea of being on equal footing as the wealthy Wanted small government to ensure they would keep their property Self Government They were used to local control of their own area wanted to keep government small Land Expansion Lots of land and resources to benefit from Could always leave community if disliked the control social contract Diversity Catholics living with Protestants Little distrustful of others running the show American Flavor of Liberalism Individualism emphasized self reliance Property Important because people inclined to take other s property Implications of Classical Liberalism Liberal Democracy Sets up clear limits on what government can do Frequent elections can give the boot to an abusive power easily Notion of the American Dream emerged Capitalism Capitalist society meant property was private Government facilitates trade encouraging profit and self reliance Religiosity High church attendance The church community fulfills the need to feel helpful helped Perpetuating Liberal Political Culture Political Socialization Process of acquiring culture s views Self Selection of Immigrants VII Self Perpetuation through Government Policy Idea of small government Shared Political Culture vs Shared Ideology Populism Communitarianism Libertarianism Liberalism Conservatism Shared Roots in Political Culture Shape norms and rules because of our political culture Shared set of values that give rise to variations