Chapter 5 PUBLIC OPINION Democracy and Public Opinion

Chapter 5 PUBLIC OPINION

Democracy and Public Opinion • Public opinion: the political attitudes expressed by ordinary citizens • Evaluating democracy: how closely does government policy correspond to the expressed wishes of its citizens?

Measuring Public Opinion • Importance of random sampling • Traditional and emerging problems in political polling – Wording “closed-ended” or “forced-choice” questions – decreased willingness of Americans to participate in surveys – increased use of “caller ID” to screen pollster calls – difficulty of surveying people who rely on cell phones

Learning Political Beliefs and Attitudes: Political Socialization • family • schools • popular culture • college education • major events • news media • marriage • retirement

Characteristics of American Political Culture • Individualism – Equality of opportunity: inequalities of wealth are acceptable to most Americans as long as individuals can compete fairly with one another – Rugged individualism: people are responsible for their own destiny and everyone has a chance to achieve the American dream if they just work hard enough

Characteristics of American Political Culture part 2 • Private Property – Emphasis on private property and a trust in the efficiencies of the free market – Not pure free market ideal but more trust in private sector than government

Characteristics of American Political Culture part 3 • Distrust of Government – If government is too powerful, it will interfere with private property, individual rights, and the effectiveness of the free market – Paradox: we expect the government to solve every problem and yet we don’t trust it

Conservatives v. Liberals (1) • Economic Conservatives: favor private enterprise/free market and oppose government regulations on spending • Economic Liberals: favor government regulation of business and government spending for social programs

Conservatives v. Liberals (2) • Social (lifestyle) liberals: People who oppose government regulations on individual choices and, in turn, favor civil liberties, abortion rights, and alternative lifestyles. • Social Conservatives: favor traditional social values: tend to support strong law-and-order measures and oppose abortion and gay rights.