Exam II Chapter 3 Politics Among States The Texas Political Culture 9 21 11 The Concept of Political Culture o Political culture is a shared framework of values beliefs and habits of behavior in regard to government and politics Texas political culture is distinctive for a variety of reasons o The state s great size and its relative geographic isolation until the 20th century are important factors o Texas was an independent republic before joining the United States Independent spirit we can t get rid of debt selection bias o Its mixture of the Old South and the West of the frontier contribute to the state s distinctiveness The Concept of Political Culture o Though some Texans particularly African Americans and Mexican Americas tend to be separate from the political culture of the dominant Anglo majority history and political institutions have shaped the assumptions that most Texans bring to politics o The intense patriotism of Texans is shaped by the myth that Texas is the most wonderful place to live that ever existed on the planet Always alternatives to solve problems o Nation state ethnicity race etc majority of the people in the state are of the same culture history E g Finland Iceland Japan o The experience shared with other Southern states of slavery defeat in a civil war and postwar occupation and denying African Americans full citizenship undergird the state s conservative political culture o Reinforcing the state s southern cultural conservatism is an extreme individualism derived form the myth of the frontier o Based on the cultural patterns of the fifty states identified by Daniel Elazar Texas is located at a midpoint between traditionalist and individualist political cultures Individualistic Political Culture o It is an approach to government and politics that emphasizes private initiative with minimum government interference o This political culture stresses the importance of the individual and private initiative o It emphasizes a role of government limited to protecting individual rights ensuring that social and political relationships are based upon merit rather than tradition family ties or personal connections Moralistic Political Culture o It is an approach of government and politics in which people expect government to intervene in the social and economic affairs of the state promoting the public welfare and advancing the public good o This political culture regards participation in political affairs as one s civic duties Believe government should solve those problems poverty education etc Want to promote public welfare Participation is one s civic duty Traditional Political Culture o Texas has this Let elite make the decisions its always been tradition so let them continue to take care of us o It is an approach to government and politics that sees the role of government as the preservation of tradition and existing social order o In this view government leadership lies in the hands of established social elite and the level of participation by ordinary citizens in the policymaking process is relatively low o According to this political culture the role of government is to protect and preserve the existing social order Texas Political Culture o Professor Elazar believes that the political culture of Texas is a hybrid that includes both traditionalistic and individualistic elements o Texas s traditional political culture is represented in the state s long history of one party rule low levels of voter turnout and social and economic conservatism o Texas s individualistic political culture is represented in the state s strong support for private business opposition to big government and faith in individual initiatives o Political culture is a useful concept because it focuses on a state s history and development as important factors influencing politics and policy Figure 3 2 Voting Turnouts in Elections for Governor Correlation strong positive TX at bottom Purposes of Government 1 Maintain Order 2 Provide Public Goods a Establish law to preserve life and protect property a Benefits and services available and beneficial to everyone externalities b Benefits the market is unable to provide i Education ii Sanitation i Street lights ii Parks iii Utilities 3 Promote Equality The Role of Government a Help the poor newest and most controversial use of government Totalitarian Anarchy Totalitarianism government should have unlimited power o Hitler Nazis o Stalin Communist Russia Anarchy no government power no government The Role of Government in the Economy Socialism Equality Capitalism Efficiency government owns the basic goods and services provided to members of the Socialism society Capitalism society and do with them as they please As resources become more abundant and society becomes more civilized government moves closer and closer to socialism It works much better under these circumstances individuals own the basic goods and services provided to members of the o Labor in a market system becomes less and less valuable as it becomes more o When everything is divided equally there is no incentive for the individual to Argument for Socialism productive Argument against Socialism produce Argument for Capitalism Argument against Capitalism o Maximizes economic growth and promotes freedom of individual wealth o Leaves less intellectually and socially privileged without means for quality of life Freedom Order places a high value on individual liberties even at the expense of having o Freedoms guaranteed in Bill of Rights typically provide more freedoms places a high value on public stability and decency even at the expense of The Role of Government in Society Social freedom an orderly society Social order individual freedom Political Ideology Liberal left wing Conservative right wing Economic Issues T A L C Social Issues A T L C T Totalitarianism A Anarchy Political Ideology Two dimensional Liberal Freedom A Conservative Order T Civil Liberties Restrict behavior Equality Efficiency Social Welfare Programs Free market Conservative Liberal Libertarian Populist It is often the case that the dimensions are not consistent with one another In other words if a person values social freedom they will not necessarily value equality also Fiscal liberal Conservatives place a lot of emphasis on social order government should regulate to level the playing field o Restrict behavior too much freedom chaos When you desire equality you end up with a bigger government o Create programs Social
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