Ideology and Public Opinion

14 October, 2010

Review:The American Political System

Designed to protect against majority rule and protect minority rights

Examples Viewed in comparative perspective Link to SNL skit on Obama’s

Accomplishments

Today: Ideology and Public Opinion

Objectives: Meaning, is the US unique? Theories Examples

Ideology

A package of ideas, a way of organizing one’s thinking about political issues and leaders. Anchored by core values that serve to structure other ideas

Public Opinion An expression of underlying attitudes and beliefs

and potentially influenced by political ideology

Liberal vs. conservative A core value that distinguishes them and influences their

positions on a variety of issues is whether government should actively promote individual equality.

Liberals [in the United States] favor active government intervention to promote equality of outcomes/results flat rate vs. regressive rate income tax vs. sales tax

Conservatives believe that government should be limited to ensuring equality of opportunities in economic matter. In social matters, however, conservatives favor a more expansive role for government

Nature and Acquisition of Opinions and Values

Rational choice Socialization or DNA?

Nature and Acquisition of Opinions and Values

Process by which one acquires values and develops opinions is called socialization.

Agents of socialization Family and Friends School Media (news, relatively new media, soft news, entertainment) Lifetime Learning: new jobs, new friends, new neighborhoods

Nature and Acquisition of Opinions and Values (II)

Are we wired to be a liberal or conservative? Twin Studies

identical twins were more likely to agree on political issues than were fraternal twins.

Taxes - (four-fifths of identical twins shared the same opinion, while only two-thirds of fraternal twins agreed).

Is US Unique? - American Individualism

0 20 40 60 80

United States

Canada

Germany

Italy

France

Czech Republic

Ukraine

UK

Poland

Russia

Figure 4.2 Percentage saying they “completely agree” with the following statement: “It is the responsibility of the state to take care of very poor people who can’t take care of themselves”

Distribution of Ideology over time

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

'72 '74 '76 '78 '80 '82 '84 '86 '88 '90 '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04

Conservative

Liberal

Moderate

Source: American National Election Studies (1972-2004)

Opinions about Federal Spending

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Liberal SlightlyLiberal

Moderate SlightlyConservative

Conservative

Incr

ea

se S

pe

nd

ing

Aids Research Crime Child Care

Source: American National Election Study (NES) 2002

Opinions about Federal Spending

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Liberal SlightlyLiberal

Moderate SlightlyConservative

Conservative

Incr

ea

se S

pe

nd

ing

War on Terror Environment

Source: American National Election Study (NES) 2002

Opinions about Federal Spending

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Liberal SlightlyLiberal

Moderate SlightlyConservative

Conservative

Incr

ea

se S

pe

nd

ing

Welfare Defense Public Schools

Source: American National Election Study (NES) 2002

Social Group Basis of Ideology

Source: Center for American Progress http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/03/pdf/political_ideology.pdf

The 2008 Election

Another Way of Looking at the Distribution of Votes

Consequences - Culture War?

Fiorina argues that the ideological disputes that engage political elites and activists have little resonance among the American mass public

Ordinary 21st century Americans “are not very well-informed about politics, do not hold many of their views very strongly, and are not ideological” (p. 19).

Culture War?

Fiorina’s characterization of Americans as uninterested and non-ideological may apply very well to the large number of Americans who rarely or never vote.

However, it may not apply as well to regular voters, and it is voters whose opinions are of greatest concern to candidates and elected officials.

Distribution of Voters on Liberal-Conservative Issues Scale

Distribution of Non Voters on Liberal-Conservative Issues Scale

Implications - Polarization

Electoral competition in the United States now appears to be structured by ideology

The American public appears to be increasingly divided into two groups: the politically engaged, who view politics in ideological terms, and the politically disengaged, who do not.

Implications for ability to govern