Mr. Baumann s Study Guide Chap. 5 Public Opinion OBJECTIVE: IN THIS CHAPTER WE TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHY GOVERNMENT DOESN T ALWAYS REFLECT THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE. KEY QUESTIONS TO ASK: 1. WHAT ARE THE DOMINANT CHARACTERISTICS OF OUR POLITICAL CULTURE? 2. HOW DO AMERICAN CITIZENS COMPARE WITH THOSE OF OTHER COUNTRIES? 3. WHAT CONTRIBUTIONS WERE MADE BY OUR RELIGIOUS HERITAGE? 4. WHY DOES THERE APPEAR TO BE THE APPARENT ABSENCE OF CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS IN THE US? 5. WHAT DOES INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL POLITICAL EFFICACY? 6. HAS THE LEVEL CHANGED OVER THE YEARS? EXPLAIN WHY? DESCRIBE THE THREE REASONS GOVERNMENT POLICY (WHAT IT DOES) APPEARS TO BE AT ODDS WITH PUBLIC OPINION. 1. THE FRAMERS DID NOT CREATE A GOVERNMENT THAT WAS INTENDED ALWAYS TO DO WHAT THE PEOPLE WANT. THE FRAMERS KNEW THAT WHAT THE PEOPLE WANTED COULD BE INCONSISTENT WITH THEIR GOALS TO FORM A MORE PERFECT UNION. AS A RESULT, THE FRAMERS BUILT SAFEGUARDS INTO THE SYSTEM SO THE PUBLIC WOULDN T ALWAYS DIRECTLY IN CONTACT WITH THEIR ELECTED REPRENTATIVES. IN ADDITION, THE FRAMERS BELIEVED THAT THE SIZE OF THE COUNTRY WOULD CREATE SUCH DIVERSITY OF OPINION THAT ONLY THOROUGHLY VETTED OPINIONS WOULD BE ADOPTED. 2. IT IS DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE EXACTLY WHAT THE PUBLIC OPINION ACTUALLY IS. 3. PUBLIC OPINION IS OFTEN OUTWEIGHED BY ELITE VIEWS HELD BY POLITICAL ACTIVISTS, WHO FREQUENTLY HAVE THE POLITICIANS EAR BECAUSE OF THEIR ACTIVISM. DEFINE: JOHN Q. PUBLIC: THE AVERAGE MAN OR WOMAN ON THE STREET, THE LITTLE GUY, OR COMMON MAN MIDDLE AMERICA: REFERS TO AMERICANS WHO HAVE MOVED OUT OF POVERTY, BUT ARE NOT YET AFFLUENT, YET CHERISH TRADITIONA MIDDLE-CLASS VALUES
SILENT MAJORITY: PEOPLE WHOM, WHATEVER THEIR ECONOMIC STATUS, UPHOLD TRADITIONAL VALUES. DESCRIBE THE PROBLEM WITH PUBLIC OPINION? (104) ACCORDING TO POLLING, OPINION ON MANY MATTERS IS NOT STABLE BUT CHANGES DEPENDING ON THE WAY THE QUESTIONS ARE WORDED IN THE POLLS. IT APPEARS THAT MOST AMERICANS WOULD RATHER THINK ABOUT THEIR JOBS, FAMILIES OR FRIENDS. HOWEVER, AMERICANS APPEAR TO BE CONSISTENT ABOUT HOW THEY THINK ABOUT LIBERTY, EQUALITY AND CONSERVATISM THEIR POLITICAL CULTURE. CONSEQUENTLY, MOST AMERICANS PREFER CLEAR CUT CHOICES IN THEIR DECISION MAKING BASED UPON THE WEIGHT THEY GIVE TO VARIOUS PARTS OF THEIR COMMON CULTURE. IDENTIFY AND EXPLAIN FIVE POSSIBLE ORIGINS OF POLITICAL ATTITUDES (106). 1. MEDIA AND ADVERTISING. SOMETIMES THIS IS CALLED BRAINWASHING, THAT IS WE ARE DUPED INTO THINKING ONE WAY OR ANOTHER BY MEDIA OR DEMAGOGUES, BUT CLEARLY THIS IS TRUE TO SOME EXTENT OTHERWISE IN OUR FREE MARKET ADVERTISING WOULD NOT EXIST. 2. FAMILY. THERE IS A DIRECT CORRELATION BETWEEN PERSONAL POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION AND THE AFFILIATION OF ONE S PARENTS, ALTHOUGH INCREASINGLY, CHILDREN ARE MORE INDEPENDENT OF THEIR PARENTS IN POLICY PREFERENCES THAN POLITICAL PARTY 3. RELIGION. THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT CORRELATION BETWEEN RELIGION AND OPINIONS ON SOCIAL, FOREIGN POLICY, SECURITY ISSUES AND ECONOMIC ISSUES. SOME OF THIS CORRELATION CAN BE EXPLAINED BY SOCIAL STATUS, BUT ALSO BY RELIGIOUS TRADITION. THE CORRELATION BETWEEN RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS AND VIEWS ON SOCIAL ISSUES AND FOREIGN POLICY SEEM TO BE MORE CLOSELY RELATED TO FUNDAMENTALIST RELIGIOUS VIEWS AND FOR OTHERS WITH MORE MODERATE RELIGIOUS VIEWS, THE CONNECTION SEEMS TO GROW WEAKER AS SOCIAL STATUS CHANGES. MORE RECENTLY, BROAD BASED POLITICAL MOVEMENTS SUCH AS THE CHRISTIAN COALITION HAVE FORMED TO FOCUS THOSE WITH STRONG RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS (FUNDAMENTALISTS AND BORN AGAIN CHRISTIANS) ON BUILDING WORKING ALLIANCES WITH POLITICIANS WHO SHARE THEIR POLITICAL VIEWS. 4. GENDER. AT ONE POINT MEN AND WOMEN SEEMED TO IDENTIFY ABOUT EQUALLY WITH EACH POLITICAL PARTY; HOWEVER, THERE
HAS BEEN A SHIFT BY MEN AWAY FROM THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY IN RECENT YEARS AS THEIR PARTY LOYALTY HAS SHIFTED TO MATCH THEIR POLICY PREFERENCES ON ISSUES LIKE SIZE OF GOVERNMENT, GUN CONTROL, WELFARE SPENDING, MILITARY SPENDING AND GAY RIGHTS. 5. SCHOOLING AND INFORMATION. THOSE WHO HAVE SCHOOLING BEYOND HIGH SCHOOL SEEM TO HAVE MORE LIBERAL POLITICAL ATTITUDES. WHY THIS IS THE CASE IS UNCLEAR, BUT IT MAY HAVE TO DO WITH THE TRAITS OF PEOPLE WHO GO TO COLLEGE, WITH THE POSSIBILITY THAT COLLEGE STUDENTS ARE EXPOSED TO MORE INFORMATION ABOUT POLITICS, OR THAT COLLEGE SOMEHOW TEACHES LIBERALISM. DEFINE: SOCIAL STATUS: A MEASURE OF ONES STANDING IN SOCIETY AS MEASURED BY FACTORS SUCH AS EDUCSATION, INCOME AND OCCUPATION. RELIGIOUS TRADITION: AND ECONOMIC ISSUES. THE MORAL TEACHINGS OF RELIGIONS ON SOCIAL IDENTIFY AND EXPLAIN HOW SOCIAL CLASS, RACE AND REGION AFFECT PUBLIC OPINION. SOCIAL CLASS: HISTORICALLY, IN THE US CLASS WAS DIVIDED INTO WORKING CLASS OR BLUE COLLAR, GENERALLY THOSE WITH A HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION OR LESS, AND UPPER CLASS CONSISTING OF THOSE WITH COLLEGE DIPLOMAS, PROFESSIONALS OR BUSINESS OWNERS. IN GENERAL, THE UPPER CLASS HAD MORE LIBERAL VIEWS ON SOCIAL ISSUES, AND THE WORKING CLASS HAD MORE LIBERAL VIEWS ON ECONOMIC ISSUES. HOWEVER, THESE DISTINCTIONS ARE NOT AS GREAT ANYMORE ON ECONOMIC ISSUES, PARTICULARLY WITH THE INCREASE IN THE PERCENTAGE OF COLLEGE GRADUATES. IN ADDITION, THE DIFFERENCES ON SOCIAL ISSUES HAS NARROWED WITH MANY MEMBERS OF THE UPPER CLASS NOW HAVING MORE CONSERVATIVE VIEWS ON SOCIAL ISSUES. RACE AND ETHNICITY. LIKEWISE, AT ONE TIME THERE WERE CLEAR AND SIGNIFICANT DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN RACES ON ECONOMIC ISSUES WITH AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND LATINOS SUBSTANTIALLY MORE A PART OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY AND MORE LIBERAL ON ECONOMIC ISSUES, AND WITH ASIAN AMERICANS AND ANGLOS MORE CONSERVATIVE ON THEM, BUT THESE DISTINCTIONS HAVE NARROWED SIGNIFICANTLY. WITH RESPECT TO ETHNIC GROUPS WITHIN RACES, THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WITH MEXICAN AMERICANS AND KOREAN AMERICANS TENDING TO BE MORE LIBERAL AND DEMOCRATS THAN CUBAN AMERICANS AND JAPANESE AMERICANS. SOME OF
THIS DIFFERENCE MAY BE ATTRIBUTABLE TO THEIR RECENCY OF IMMIGRATION TO THE USA. REGION. GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT POLITICAL ATTITUDES WITH THE SOUTH AND THE NORTH HAVING PARTICULARLY STRONG DIFFERENCES, WITH WHITE SOUTHERNERS BEING PARTICULARLY MORE CONSERVATIVE THAN NORTHERNERS. AT ONE TIME WHITE SOUTHERNERS WERE LARGELY DEMOCRATS, BUT THERE HAS BEEN A SIGNIFICANT SHIFT OVER THE PAST 50 YEARS SO THAT NOW THE MAJORITY OF WHITE SOUTHERNERS ARE REPUBLICAN. IDENTIFY THE GENERAL POLITICAL VIEWS OF THE FOLLOWING RELIGIOUS GROUPS AND GENDERS BY ISSUE (SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND FOREIGN POLICY) AS LIBERAL (L) OR CONSERVATIVE (C)(108): SOCIAL ECONOMIC FOREIGN POLICY ROMAN CATHOLICISM: C L L JUDAISM: L L L PROTESTANTISM: C L C SECULAR: L L L WOMEN: L L L MEN: C C C COLLEGE EDUCATED: L L L AFRICAN AMERICANS: C L L WHITE: C C C LATINO: C L C ASIAN AMERICAN: L C C NORTHERNS: L L L SOUTHERNERS: C C C DEFINE POLLING AND IDENTIFY THE FIVE KEY CRITERIA THAT MUST BE MET TO CREATE RELIABLE POLLS. POLLING IS A METHOD TO SURVEY PUBLIC OPINION. THE CRITERIA ARE: 1. RANDOM SAMPLING. THE SURVEY INTERVIEWS MUST BE FROM A RANDOM SAMPLE OF THE ENTIRE POPULATION SO THAT ANY GIVEN PERSON HAS AN EQUAL CHANCE OF BEING INTERVIEWED. 2. COMPREHENSIBLE QUESTIONS. THE QUESTIONS MUST BE ABOUT SOMETHING THE PERSON HAS KNOWLEDGE OF AND HAS FORMED AN OPINION ABOUT. 3. FAIR QUESTIONING. THE QUESTIONING MUST BE CLEAR AND FREE FROM LOADED OR EMOTIONAL LANGUAGE.
4. CLEAR ANSWERING CATEGORIES. PARTICULARLY WHEN THERE ARE MORE THAN TWO CHOICES, THE ANSWER CHOICES MUST BE CLEAR. 5. SMALL SAMPLING DIFFERENCES. EVERY SURVEY HAS A SAMPLING ERROR (THE DIFFERENCE IN RESULTS BETWEEN TWO IDENTICAL SURVEYS WITH DIFFERENT RANDOM POPULATIONS INTERVIEWED), AND THE ACCURACY OF THE SURVEY DEPENDS ON THE SIZE OF THE SAMPLE. GENERALLY, THE LARGER THE SAMPLE, THE MORE ACCURATE ARE THE RESULTS. DEFINE: POLITICAL IDEOLOGY: A COHERENT AND CONSISTENT SET OF BELIEFS ABOUT WHO OUGHT TO RULE AND WHAT PRINCIPLES THEY OUGHT TO OBEY, PURSUE AND FOLLOW. DESCRIBE THE TWO WAYS THAT POLITICAL SCIENTISTS MEASURE A PERSON S POLITICAL IDEOLOGY. 1. BY SEEING HOW PEOPLE USE THE WORDS LIBERAL, CONSERVATIVE ETC. TO DESCIBE THEIR POLITICAL VIEWS OR TO JUSTIFY THEIR PREFERENCES. 2. BY SEEING WHETHER A CITIZEN S VIEWS ON ISSUES ARE CONSISTENT BY COMPARING THEIR VIEWS OVER TIME. DEFINE THE TRADITIONAL MEANING OF LIBERAL AND CONSERVATIVE AND EXPLAIN HOW THESE MEANINGS HAVE CHANGED OVER TIME. (120) LIBERAL: ORIGINALLY THIS DESCRIBED A PERSON WHO FAVORED PESONAL AND ECONOMIC LIBERTY FREEDOM FROM GOVERNMENT CONTROL AND A SUPPORTER OF FREE ENTERPRISE AND NO TRADE REGULATION. BY THE ELECTION OF FDR IN 1932, LIBERAL BEGAN TO MEAN A PERSON WHO FAVORED ACTIVE GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION IN THE ECONOMY TO CREATE JOBS AND SOCIAL WELFARE PROGRAMS AND TO HELP ORGANIZED LABOR. CONSERVATIVE: ORIGINALLY THIS DESCRIBED A PERSON WHO FAVORED A RETURN OF THE POWER OF THE STATE, THE CHURCH AND THE ARISTOCRACY, AND A DE-EMPHASIS ON PERSONAL LIBERTY. NOW A CONSERVATIVE FAVORS FREE MARKETS, STATE S RIGHTS OVER NATIONAL GOVERNMENT AND GREATER RELIANCE ON PERSONAL CHOICE IN ECONOMIC MATTERS. DEFINE THE WORDS USED BY PUNDITS TO DESCRIBE LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES:
LIBERALS: BY THEIR SUPPORTERS: CARING COMMITTED AN ACTIVIST PROGRESSIVE. BY ENEMIES: CRACKPOT KNEE-JERK LEFT-WING BLEEDING HEART CONSERVATIVES: BY THEIR SUPPORTERS: MODERATE RESPONSIBLE PRUDENT MAINSTREAM. BY THEIR ENEMIES: REACTIONARY RIGHT-WING EXTREMIST. IDENTIFY THE THREE CATEGORIES USED TO DEFINE POLITICAL IDEOLOGY AND DESCRIBE THEIR LIBERAL CONTEXTS. (121) 1. ECONOMY. QUESTIONS ABOUT GOVERNMENT POLICY REGARDING THE ECONOMY. LIBERALS FAVOR GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO ENSURE THAT EVERYONE HAS A JOB, SPENDS MORE MONEY ON MEDIALC AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS AND INCREASES RATES OF TAXATION FOR THE RICH. 2. CIVIL RIGHTS AND RACE RELATIONS. LIBERALS FAVOR FEDERAL ACTION TO DESEGREGATE SCHOOL, INCREASE HIRING OPPORTUNITIES FOR MINORITIES AND ENFORCE CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS STRICTLY. 3. PUBLIC AND POLITICAL CONDUCT. LIBERALS ARE TOLERANT OF PROTEST DEMONSTRATIONS, FAVOR LEGALIZING MARIJUANA, AND EMPHASIZE THE RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED OVER PUNISHING CRIMINALS. DESCRIBE FOUR KINDS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE COMBINATIONS OF THESE CATEGORIES. 1. PURE LIBERALS. THESE PEOPLE ARE LIBERAL ON ECONOMIC POLICH AND PERSONAL CONDUCT. THEY WANT THE GOVERNMENT TO REDUCE ECONOMIC INEQUALITY, REGULATE BUSINESS, TAX THE RICH HEAVILY, CURE THE ECONOMIC CAUSES OF CRIME, ALLOW ABORTIONS, PROTECT THE RIGHS OF THE ACCUSED AND GUARANTEE THE BROADEST POSSIBLE FREEDOMS OF SPEECH AND PRESS. 2. PURE CONSERVATIVES. THESE PEOPLE ARE CONSERVATIVE ON ECONOMIC CONDUCT AND PUBLIC CONDUCT. THEY WANNT THE GOVERNMENT TO CUT BACK ON THE WELFARE STATE, ALLOW THE MARKET TO ALLOCATE GOODS AND SERVICES FREE OF REGULATION, KEEP TAXES LOW, LOCK UP CRIMINALS AND CURE IMMORAL CONDUCT. 3. LIBERTARIANS. THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE CONSERATIVE ON ECONOMIC MATTER AND LIBERAL ON SOCIAL MATTERS. THEY WANTSMALLER GOVERNMENT AND ONE THAT HAS LITTLE CONTROL OVER PERSONAL LIVES.
4. POPULISTS. THESE PEOPLE OARE LIBERAL ON ECONOMIC MATTERS AND CONSERVATIVE ON PUBLIC CONDUCT. THE WANT A GOVERNMENT THAT WILL REDUCE ECONOMIC INEQUALITY AND REGULATE BUSINESS, BUT THEY ALSO WANT REGULATIONS OF PERSONAL FREEDOMS. DESCRIBE POLITICAL ELITISTS. POLITICAL ELITES ARE ACTIVISTS IN POLITICS WHO HAVE A DISPROPORTIONATE AMOUNT OF POLITICAL POWER DUE TO THEIR ACTIVISM OR THEIR CONNECTIONS. DESCRIBE THE TWO REASONS THAT POLITICAL ELITES ARE MORE CLOSELY CONNECTED TO A PARTICULAR POLITICAL IDEOLOGY. 1. IN GENERAL, THEY ARE BETTER INFORMED. 2. THE MORE ACTIVE A POLITICAL ELITIST IS, THE MORE LIKELY HE OR SHE WILL HAVE VIEWS THAT WILL MATCH AND WILL BE REINFORCING. DESCRIBE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TRADITIONAL MIDDLE CLASS AND THE NEW CLASS OR THE LIBERAL MIDDLE CLASS AND IDENTIFY THEIR POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATIONS. (123) THE TRADITIONAL MIDDLE CLASS CONSISTS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE GONE TO COLLEGE BUT NOT TO GRADUATE SCHOOL, WHO LIVE IN THE SUBURBS, GO TO CHURCH, FAVOR BUSINESS OVER ECONOMIC EQUALITY AND HAVE CONSERVATIVE VIEWS ON SOCIAL ISSUES. THEY ARE USUALLY REPUBLICANS. IN CONTRAST, THE NEW CLASS IS MORE LIKELY TO BE MADE UP OF INDIVIDUALS WITH POST-GRADUATE EDUCATIONS, LIVE IN OR NEAR BIG CITIES, FAVOR BUSINESS REGULATION AND HAVE LIBERAL VIEWS ON SOCIAL ISSUES. THEY ARE USUALLY DEMOCRATS. THE EMERGENCE OF THE NEW CLASS HAS MADE IT DIFFICULT TO KEEP THE DEMOCRATIC COALITION TOGETHER BECAUSE THEIR IDEOLOGY CLASHES WITH OTHER GROUPS ON SOCIAL ISSUES. DESCRIBE HOW POLITICAL ELITES INFLUENCE PUBLIC OPINION. (125) 1. ELITES RAISE AND FRAME (IDENTIFY AND DESCRIBE) POLITICAL ISSUES. FOR EXAMPLE, AT ONE TIME EVIRONMENTALISM WAS NOT A SIGNIFICANT POLITICAL ISSUE, BUT ELITES RAISED THIS ISSUE AND
NOW IT IS AN IMPORTANT POLITICAL ISSUE. IRONICALLY, ISSUES RAISED BY THE MAJORITY OF VOTERS SEEM TO CARRY LESS INFLUENCE DUE IN PART TO ELITES. 2. ELITES SET THE STANDARD ON HOW THE ISSUE SHOULD BE RESOLVED. BY DOING THIS, THEY HELP DETERMINE THE RANGE OF ACCEPTABLE AND UNACCEPTSABLE POLICY OPTIONS (E.G. SEXISM ARE NOW CONSIDERED WRONG, AIDS VICTIMS WERE ONCE SHUNNED, NOW THEY ARE HELPED). DEFINE: NORM: A STANDARD OF RIGHT OR PROPER CONDUCT. SUMMARY: PUBLIC OPINION IS DIFFICULT TO ASSESS, IN PART BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY PUBLICS, INCLUDING OCCUPATION, FAMILY, RELIGION, EDUCATION, GENDER, RACE, ETHNICITY AND REGION. AS A RESULT, IT IS DIFFICULT TO EVEN DETERMINE POLITICAL IDEOLOGY ALONG A SINGLE LIBERAL-CONSERVATIVE DIMENSION.