Chapter 3

Politics Among the States

 The Texas Political Culture

• The Concept of Political Culture

– Political culture is a shared framework of values, beliefs, and habits
of behavior in regard to government and politics.

– Texas political culture is distinctive for a variety of reasons.

• The state's great size and its relative geographic isolation until
the 20th century are important factors.

• Texas was an independent republic before joining the United

States.

• Its mixture of the Old South and the West of the frontier
contribute to the state’s distinctiveness.
 The Texas Political Culture

• The Concept of Political Culture

– Though some Texans, particularly African Americans and Mexican
Americans, tend to be separate from the political culture of the
dominant Anglo majority, history and political institutions have
shaped the assumptions that most Texans bring to politics.

– The intense patriotism of Texans is shaped by the myth that Texas is

the most wonderful place to live that ever existed on the planet.
 The Texas Political Culture
• The Concept of Political Culture
– The experience, shared with other Southern states, of slavery, defeat
in a civil war and postwar occupation, and denying African
Americans full citizenship undergird the state's conservative political
culture.

– Reinforcing the state’s southern cultural conservatism is an extreme

individualism derived form the myth of the frontier.

– Based on the cultural patterns of the fifty states identified by Daniel

Elazar, Texas is traditionalistic.
 Political Culture
Traditionalistic Political Culture
– It is an approach to government and politics that sees the role of
government as the preservation of tradition and existing social
order.
– In this view, government leadership lies in the hands of the
established social elite, and the level of participation by ordinary
citizens in the policymaking process is relatively low.
– According to this political culture, the role of government is to
protect and preserve the existing social order.

Individualistic Political Culture

– It is an approach to government and politics that emphasizes
private initiative with minimum government interference.
– This political culture stresses the importance of the individual and
private initiative.
– It emphasizes a role of government limited to protecting individual
rights, ensuring that social and political relationships are based
upon merit rather than tradition, family ties, or personal
connections.
 Political Culture
• Moralistic Political Culture
– It is an approach of government and politics in which people
expect government to intervene in the social and economic affairs
of the state, promoting the public welfare and advancing the public
good.
– This political culture regards participation in political affairs as
one’s civic duty.

• Texas Political Culture

– Texas’s traditionalistic political culture is represented in the state’s
long history of one-party rule,
– low levels of voter turnout,
– and social and economic conservatism.

Political culture is a useful concept because it focuses on a state’s

history and development as important factors influencing politics
and policy.
 The Texas Political Culture

• Conservatism
– The conservatism characterized by Thomas Jefferson’s statement
that “that government is best which governs least” has dominated
Texas politics since the end of the Civil War.

– Conservatism refers to a general hostility to government activity, or

laissez-faire, especially in the economic sphere and is consistent
with the individualist political culture on economic issues and
consistent with the traditionalist political culture on social issues.

– Texas conservatism minimizes the role of government in society

while stressing an individualism that maximizes the role of
businesspeople in controlling the economy.
 The Texas Political Culture
• Social Darwinism
– The belief that individuals who prosper and rise to the top of the
socioeconomic ladder are worthy and deserving, while those who
sink to the bottom are unworthy and deserve their poverty continues
to dominate the thinking of many Texans.

– The prevalence of Social Darwinism has resulted in many state

policies that are unusually stingy toward the underprivileged.

– Emanating from pseudo laissez-faire economic doctrine and Social

Darwinism is a trickle-down theory of economic and social
development (holding that everyone’s situation can be bettered by
insuring that business flourishes)
 Figure 3.1
Political Culture in the United States
 Figure 3.3
Turnout of Voting Age Population Elections for Governor 1994-1997 and 2012-2015

5
2 01 7
1 2- -199
0 4
e r 2 199
h r
hig he
g
out t hi
rn ou
Tu urn
T
 Purposes of Government

1. Maintain Order
– Establish law to preserve life and protect property

2. Provide Public Goods

– Benefits and services available and beneficial to everyone.
(Externalities)
• Education
• Sanitation
– Benefits the market is unable to provide.
• Street lights
• Parks
• Utilities

4. Promote Equality
- Help the poor (newest and most controversial use of
government)
 The Role of Government

Anarchy Totalitarian

• Totalitarianism- government should have unlimited power

(Hitler with Nazis, Stalin with Communist Russia)

• Anarchy-no government power (no government)

 The Role of Government in Society

Freedom Order

• Social Freedom
– places a high value on individual liberties even at the expense of
having an orderly society

• Social Order
– places a high value on public stability and decency even at the
expense of individual freedom
 The Role of Government in the Economy

Socialism Capitalism
(Equality) (Efficiency)

• Socialism-government owns the basic goods and services

provided to members of the society

• Capitalism- individuals own the basic goods and services

provided to members of the society, and do with them as they
please

As resources become more abundant, and society becomes more

civilized, government moves closer and closer to socialism. It works
much better under these circumstances.
 The Role of Government in the Economy

• Argument for Socialism

– labor in a market system becomes less and less valuable as it
becomes more productive

• Argument against Socialism

– when everything is divided equally there is no incentive for the
individual to produce

• Argument for Capitalism

– it maximizes economic growth and promotes freedom of individual
wealth

• Argument against Capitalism

– it leaves less intellectually and socially privileged without means
for quality of life
 Political Ideology

Liberal Conservative
(Left Wing) (Right Wing)

Economic Issues
T A
Social Issues
A T
 Political Ideology
(2 Dimensional)
Liberal Conservative

Equality (T) Efficiency (A)

(Social Welfare Programs) (Free Market)

Freedom (A) Order (T)

(Civil Liberties) (Restrict Behavior)

• It is often the case that the dimensions are not consistent with one
another.

• In other words if a person values social freedom they will not

necessarily value equality also.
 Political Ideology
(2 Dimensional)
Liberal Conservative

(+) Equality (T) (-) Efficiency (A)

(Social Welfare Programs) (Free Market)

(-) Freedom (A) (+) Order (T)

(Civil Liberties) (Restrict Behavior)

• It is often the case that the dimensions are not consistent with one
another.

• In other words if a person values social freedom they will not

necessarily value equality also.
Conservative
• high value for social order and economic efficiency
• Govt. power must be used to regulate individual choices.
• Oppose use of govt power to regulate economy.
• Economic inequality is the natural consequence of human ability and energy.
• They see the need to use govt power to guide and limit human behavior in the realm of
morals but oppose the use of govt to restrict human behavior in the economic realm

Liberal
• high value for social freedom and economic equality
• Value private property and market and willing to support govt. intervention to promote
individual welfare and regulate the economy

Libertarian
• high value for social freedom and economic efficiency (minimal govt involvement in all
aspects of life)
• Emphasize the autonomy of the individual and minimal role of govt.
• —individual should be free from govt restraint in both economic and non economic
spheres (NOT ANARCHY as may be perceived. They believe in minimal intervention of
government, not a society without government)

Populist
• favor govt intervention in the economy to benefit the average or little guy.
• Populists are not anti capitalists. They accept most of the assumptions of liberalism
especially emphasizing individualism, equality of opportunity and property rights.
• Populists support the use of govt power to regulate individual behavior so that it conforms
to traditional moral and social values. (NOT TOTALITARIAN for the same reason that
libertarians are not anarchists)
 Figure 3.4
Percent Liberal and Conservative 2015
 Figure 3.5
Percent Conservative 1988-1999 and 2015

14
20 14
in
v e n 20
ti i
r va tive
n se rva
co nse
r e
o co
M ss
Le
 Figure 3.6
Party Control of State Legislatures 2016

Divided control Republicans control

Democrats control Divided control

 Figure 3.7
Party Control of Legislature 2016
 Figure 3.8
Republicans in the Population and State Houses 2015-16
 Figure 3.9
Party Control of Legislature and Governor