Political Science 320 B, Fall 2013 Lecture 3, Political Values and Ideology

LECTURE: Political Values and Ideology

Political Values and Ideology

Who is clear on usage of liberal and conservative in US? Objectives
Understand nature of beliefs, values, or attitudes most Americans use to judge policy. Notice that they are different from another approach: policy analysis (discussed next) Understand both differences between groups and areas of agreement. Recognize that public has some widely shared expectations and preferences for public policy.

Consensus Values: Democratic Capitalism

That is: matters where nearly all agree.

political rights
free speech, right to vote, right to run for officeequal for all citizens. democracy, opportunity for participation

differences over campaign contributions.

equality -- for example, in right vote

maintenance of capitalism
no major socialist or social democratic movement

govt responsibility for economic growth racial and ethnic non-discrimination. limited welfare state (i.e. at least): dealing with poverty. Military power

Areas of Disagreement
Appropriate nature of equal opportunity:

Equality of formal opportunity (conservative), OR Equality of substantive opportunity (probability of success moderate-liberal) OR Equality of outcomes (more liberal)

Competence and fairness of government and government programshigh or low? Working of free marketshow well they serve public. Enforcement of traditional morals

Content and bases for ideology

What is the content of ideological beliefs? Broad beliefs about how the world works. E.g., behavior, causal processes. And values.
E.g., businesses serve customers interests.

Values or attitudes--moral judgments; likes and dislikes.

E.g., Business executives are paid too much.

Liberalism (or "progressivism")

economic issues (including welfare)
active government; government solves problems high taxes are acceptable assistance for the less well off ; greater equality active intervention to ensure fair treatment of minority groups; "affirmative action" programs (for example, preferential admission to university for minority students) to overcome effects of past discrimination or disadvantage regulating business to protect the public strong environmental controls

social" issues (morality, religion)

individual freedom regarding lifestyles, sexual morality maintain strict separation of church and state; permit abortion. emphasizing protecting defendants' rights and interests (privacy, fair trial, modest sentences)

Conservatism
economic issues (including welfare)
limited government; do not attempt to change society keep taxes as low as possible provide quite limited help to people in need; rely on private charity; insist on work and individual responsibility insist on "colorblind," nondiscrimination in employment policies (no preferential treatment for minorities) avoid interference with business or economic activity emphasize controlling the costs of environmental controls

"social" issues (morality, religion)

support enforcement of traditional morality; for example, do not intervene to protect rights of homosexuals; enforce laws against pornography; regulate obscenity in the media support religion; limit or prohibit abortion de-emphasizing protecting defendants' rights and interests (privacy, fair trial, modest sentences)

Libertarianism
A small group: consistent posture of limiting government role. Thus conservative on economic issues, not social issues.

Increasing importance due to Tea Party. Ron Paul pres campaign; and Sen. Rand Paul.

Illustrating the nature of ideological beliefs: topics relevant for taxes and role of government
Subject or topic Incentives, effect of taxes Effects of business activity Government performance Private consumption Conservative beliefs Taxes reduce savings and work. Socially beneficial. High level of waste Meets real needs, improves lives Lazy, avoiding competitive careers Liberal beliefs Taxes have little effect, except at extreme levels Causes harm, social problems, pollution, etc. Reasonably efficient False needs, manufactured by advertising Dedicated, accept lesser pay for ideals

Govt officials

What is interesting about this table???

One answer: It demonstrates essentially arbitrary connections between beliefs. Beliefs go together because of the conclusions they support, not because of any logical connection.
Why does someone who thinks private consumption is highly beneficial ALSO think that government officials are lazy? Just because both beliefs support the case for smaller government. Ideologues dont use logic and evidence very much!

US and Canadian values

Broad similarity of US and Canadian Values (from Dalton chapter)

SEE LECTURE 3 ADDENDUM

Source: 2006 International Social Survey Program. The figure displays the percentage who think each policy area is definitely or probably a government responsibility.

Evidence of surveys:
US and Canada very close on most issues. Canada more prone to see govt responsibility to promote equality, and to help the unemployed. In contrast, US more prone to help (university and college) students. Note, however, US tuition is much higher. So actually, Canada already does more to help students than US. Implication of the student aid finding: How to interpret findings.

Two ways to respond to a question (determined by respondent):

Ignore existing policy. Define preferred role of government in relation to an abstract standard. E.g. should government pay more than half the cost of education? Respondents in both countries answer the exact same abstract question. OR Focus on existing policy. Define preferred role of government in relation to existing policy. E.g. should government pay more of the cost of education than (US/Canadia)n government now pays (20%-US/75%Canada)? Respondents in each country answer a different version of the question.

Interpretation: Respondents focus at least partly on existing policy. Thus US says help students more than Canadian just because existing US policies help them lessCanadian policy is in fact more generous, so Canadian public gives less generous responses.
Broader implications: Responses indicate preferences in relation to the policies that each country already has. i.e., many respondents may read the question as, should the country do more than it already does? If so, the small differences on other issues in the figure may be understated. E.g., the difference in preferences about health may be much larger than the chart suggests. Canada

providing more health care, thus citizens would be less likely to supportyet they actually support a little more than in US. Nevertheless, we should assume that US and Canada differences are generally modest.

The pivotal center

overall, moderates are prevalentin numbers.
NBC News Poll [August, 2009] Thinking about your general approach to issues, do you consider yourself to be a liberal, moderate, or conservative? (If Liberal/Conservative, ask:) Do you consider yourself to be very liberal/conservative or somewhat liberal/conservative? 9% 14 34 22 16 5 Very liberal Somewhat liberal Moderate Somewhat conservative Very conservative Not sure

70 percent moderate or somewhat liberal or conservative. Only 25% very liberal or conservative. [SEE APPENDIX. NOT MUCH CHANGE.]

More conservative than liberal by a strong margin (38-23). But: people who choose the label conservative often support liberal policies on particular issues. (See the data about for large majorities supporting governmental roles.) In reality, the liberal-conservative balance is quite even. Later in course:
Public is becoming more polarized, i.e., less centrist or moderate. The more attentive citizens are more extreme. Politicians have increasing responded to the ideological base of each party: More extreme liberals and conservatives.

Relevance of political culture and ideology for the study of policymaking. It matters for:

Understanding major goals or considerations that shape policy

for example, a strong emphasis on preserving the role of private insurance companies in healthcare. Reflects agreement on democratic capitalism.

Understanding conflicts in the policy process due to choices between liberal and conservative approaches. Understanding the sources and nature of rigid or uninformed beliefs.