Jaymie TicknorPolitical Science 1050 Sect. 00223 and 28 January 2014Lecture #2Chapter #2 : Political Culture :Political Culture Provides a Framework for Political Evaluation:What is political culture?Citizens’ shared values and beliefs toward the political system and their roles as participants in this systemEncourages system stability (arguable; shared lens that makes it cohesive)Does Immigration Threaten National Cohesion? (diversity of people can lead to changes and diversity of perspectives, ideas, languages, and sense of self)Some have suggested immigration will fundamentally change American values (negative perspective)Are the values of recent immigrants fundamentally different than native-born American?Evidence suggests concerns are unwarranted (values greater than native-born; adopt languages of the host country)Beliefs of the American Creed : the dominant political culture in the U.S., marked by a set of beliefs in individualism, democracy, liberty, property, and religion, tied together by the value of equalityIndividualism: people should be able to achieve as much as their talent and abilities allow them to achieve, regardless of race, religion, or other group characteristicsDemocracy: Government Actions Should Reflect the Will of the People (Consent)Liberty: Government Restraint on Individual Behavior Should Be Minimal (Freedom); belief that government should leave people free to do as they please and exercise their natural rights (rights inherent in the essence of people as human beings; government does not provide these rights but canrestrict the exercise of them) to the maximum extent possibleProperty: Individuals Should Be Free to Acquire, Own, and Use Goods and Assets free from government constraints, as long as their acquisition and use does not interfere with the rights of other individualsReligion: Individuals Should Be Free to Practice Their Religious Faith and that government should not establish any particular religion as the official or preferred religionClassical Liberalism: (Ron Paul on Libertarianism: non-aggressive, non-violent force; tolerant towards and accepts disagreements; want corporations to benefit consumer; view that emphasizes the importance of individual choice and responsibility, the private sector, and the free market, in which government’sprimary obligations are to defend the country militarily, protect individuals from crime, and ensure that people fulfill contracts entered into freely)A philosophy that elevates and empowers the individual as opposed to religious, governmental, or other forms of authority“Hands-off” policy of governance (laissez-faire)Governments should have limited involvement in economic and civil affairsIndividualism: belief that individuals should be able to succeed as far as their talents and abilities will take them (dismisses external factors like environment, community, etc.); major component of classical liberalism; does not guarantee equal opportunitiesTension between Individualism and Equality : the value that all Americans should be treated the same under the law, be able to influence government, and have equal opportunity to succeed in lifeMost Americans do not regard economic and social inequality as justification for government action; prefer equal opportunity to equal outcomesEqual Opportunity: idea that all people should be able to compete on equal-playing fieldEqual Outcomes: societal rewards should be distributed in a way that is on par with the general populationSome argue individualistic values have undermined efforts to address poverty through public policyDemocracy: will of the people; consent of the governed; (should have) equal opportunityto influence government; equal treatment by the lawProperty: freedom to acquire property (ownership); freedom to use property as one wishes (not completely free, some constraints)Free Religious Belief and Practice: freedom of religious expression (some constraints toprevent violence); importance of religion in public lifeReynolds vs. United States (1878): George Reynolds, a Mormon, was tried for marrying one woman while already being married to another (at the time, Mormons endorsed the practice of bigamy or polygamy); Bigamy is prohibited under the Morrill-Bigamy Act; Reynolds argued the act violated his first amendment rights; Supreme Court ruled against Reynolds: religious belief not the same as religious practice; once behavior violates the law, the government has ability to restrict behaviorIslamic Center in Manhattan (2010): Islamic Center was under construction in Manhattan a few blocks away from Ground Zero; sparked protests; Opponents: poor taste to be so close to Ground Zero (symbolically mocking the people involved with 9/11; general assumption that all Muslims are bad because of one radical group destroying the Twin Towers); Proponents: violated the free exercise clause in first amendment(property)Political Culture and Political Behavior: helps Americans evaluate issues, candidates, andgovernment actions; little trust in government and limited governmentPolitical conflict emerges from tension among the creed’s beliefs and from debateover the meaning of the beliefsTextbook: Limited Government: the idea that the scope of government activities should be narrow and that government should act only when the need is great and other sectors of society are unable to meet the needSovereign Power: the individual or institution in a political system whose decisions are binding and cannot be overturned by other individuals or institutionsCommunitarianism: the view that the needs of the community are of higher priority in government than the needs of the individual, even if the result isa restriction of individual libertiesDiscrimination: the view that not all groups in society are deserving of equal rights and opportunitiesMulticulturalism: the view that group identity influences political beliefs and that because groups are naturally diverse in their beliefs, the idea of a shared or dominant political culture merely reflects the imposition of a dominant group’s beliefs on subordinate