2 pages politics paper.
Public Opinion
Braunwarth
POSC 121
What is Public Opinion?
- Simply, the opinion of the public on matters of relevance to the government
- We’ll start by examining the factors shaping public in the U.S.
- First from the Macro/Cultural level
- Then Groups/Social Categories
- Then the Individual level
Political Culture
- How is Public Opinion shaped by our overall Political Culture?
- We basically all share the Classical Liberal focus on self-interested, reasoning individuals
- The Framers borrowed from Locke who drew on the ideas of Descartes
- Descartes popularized the idea of individual reason which made possible the enlightenment and the scientific revolution
Classical Liberalism
- This way of thinking is well suited to our economic (capitalism) and political (democracy) systems
- However, not all societies have gone through the same process of enlightenment
- Is it inevitable that this process (and capitalism and democracy) will spread?
- Religious fundamentalism and it’s reliance on faith over fallible individual reasoning dominates many societies and even many groups here
Social Categories
- What characteristics are salient in shaping Public Opinion? How?
- Race
- Opinions differ regarding the extent of racial progress
- Gender
- Women are slightly less likely to advocate war and more likely to vote Democrat
Social Categories
- Age
- In general, people don’t become more conservative as they age
- Rather, their opinions reflect the conditions under which they were socialized
- For example, Millennials are generally more tolerant, educated, and economically risk-averse than previous generations
- Religion
- The “God Gulf” is dramatic with the religiously observant voting Republican
Social Categories
- In general, the more urban, the more liberal
- The South is the most conservative region of the country
- This is related to class
- Income is more concentrated in the U.S. than in any other Western Democracy
- But Americans are less aware of class divisions than others
- Lower class tends to be more concerned with personal morality
- Upper class tends to be more supportive of civil liberty issues
Shaping Individual Opinions
- Most fundamental political beliefs/ ideologies/ opinions are formed early
- What are the primary agents of political Socialization?
- Family is #1
- Schools impart basic civic values
- Often exposed to different situations/ people/ stimuli post-high school
- These “college years” can be very formative
- Many of you are actively shaping your values and opinions right now!
Public Opinion
- Public Opinion is just that, opinion.
- It is a “social fact” not a “brute fact”
- It need not be based on hard data or be objectively true
- So why should we care about P.O.?
- This is a democracy and Public Opinion is still one of the primary inputs that shapes public policy
- The Quality of Public Opinion is thus important
Public Knowledge
- Are citizens doing their job?
- Take the following quiz:
- Who is your Congressional Representative?
- Who are your state’s two Senators?
- Who is the U.S. Secretary of State?
- Who is the U.S. Secretary of the Interior?
- Who is your representatives to either the State Assembly or the State Senate?
- Who is Kate Gosselin or Khloe Kardashian?
- Why do we know more about some of these than others?
- What the media chooses to emphasize (Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death)
John Kenneth Galbraith
- "We Associate truth with convenience," he wrote, "with what closely accords with self-interest and personal well-being or promises best to avoid awkward effort or unwelcome dislocation of life. We also find highly acceptable what contributes the most to self-esteem." Economic and social behaviors, Galbraith continued, "are complex, and to comprehend their character is mentally tiring. Therefore we adhere, as though to a raft, to those ideas which represent our understanding.“
- In sum, Public Opinion/“conventional wisdom” is always
- Easily understandable
- Reinforces our self-esteem
- We reason but only to justify our existing conclusions
Frames
- All politics is based on moral values, with strict conservatives and progressives having different moral values.
- All issues are conceptually "framed" - that is, they have a mental structure that fits one's moral system.
- Facts matter, but only when they clearly fit one's morally-based frames. If the facts don't fit your frames, the frames stay (since they are in your brain) and the facts are ignored or ridiculed.
Haidt The Righteous Mind
- Liberals stress what “evolved values”?
- Caring and Fairness
- Conservatives emphasize what “tribal values”?
- Loyalty, Authority, Sanctity
- Interestingly, both are actually right about their central concerns
- But, it is very difficult to bridge the gap between the two
Haidt The Righteous Mind
- Need to look at what issues each side “Sacrilizes” (hysterical motivated ignorance)
- Conservatives?
- Taxes
- Liberals?
- Was race and gender, becoming global warming and gay marriage
Public Opinion in a complex world
- Is the world that simple?
- No, but individuals seek easily understandable, self-satisfying explanations
- Look at the “Republicanism as Religion” article.
- Public Opinion may be simplistic but it still drives policy in our democracy
- However, it is not just a one-way street
Constructing Public Opinion in a Complex World
- Political actors (politicians, interest groups, etc.) are eager to construct explanations that reinforce certain positions
- Is it possible for a politician to take the high road and address the complexity of political issues?
- Or will he be defeated by someone promising a simple explanation that reinforces the self-esteem of the audience?
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave
- How do people feel when their illusions have been shattered?
- Examples?
- Are they happy to be enlightened?
- If enlightened, will they be eager to go back an educate their fellows?
Image>Substance
- Take a moment and list attributes of two prominent politicians
- Chances are these are based on messages popularized by the media but probably have little to do that individual’s ability to govern
- We are not computers and do not view the world from a purely rational perspective
- Opinion is often based on “image”, emotions, and impressions rather than substantive political issues
- It may be “rule by the people” but large numbers of people are uninformed or misled or just don’t care
Culture of Fear
- What kinds of things, are people warned to be afraid of?
- Are these likely threats?
- So what; why should we care if people are afraid of things over which they have little control and are not likely to affect them?
- It prevents them from addressing real political concerns upon which they can make an impact.
- (Same argument applies to sports)
Cynicism
- Do people tend to trust government or do they think that government is “the problem and not the solution” and that politicians are merely “a bunch of crooks”?
- Such opinions are widespread even though the vast majority of politicians are concerned about the public good.
- What effect does this have on democratic politics?
- Limits the ability of government to provide positive action for society
John Stuart Mill: On Conformity, Individuality, and Liberty
- Under what circumstances can one interfere in the actions of another?
- Only Self-Protection
- Mill worries about the tyranny of public opinion
- For J.S. Mill, very important to be exposed to a variety of opinions and a diversity of ideas
- “Marketplace of Ideas”
- Is there a tyranny of public opinion in the U.S.? Example?
- How are opposing views treated?
Political Ideology
- What we accept is often shaped by our ideology
- An ideology is a Coherent and Comprehensive system of Political Beliefs
- It should tell you what is, what should be, and what you should do politically
- Our variations of liberalism and conservatism are unique to the U.S.
- These ideologies differ in their acceptance of government influence in the market and in private conduct
Liberalism
- Theme: Public Morality
- Concerned with welfare of others
- Everyone is valued
- We are our brother’s keeper
- “nurturant parent” family model in which the world is a benevolent place that can be made better
- Government necessary to protect people from vagaries of the market
- Government should not favor particular behaviors or groups (religious, gender, sexual orientation, etc.)
Conservatism
- Theme: Private Morality
- Concerned with conduct of others
- Traditional Values
- We are our own keeper
- “strict father” family model in which the world is dangerous and must be controlled
- No Government regulation of the market
- Government should endorse precise standards for private conduct
Ideology
Flip Sides of the Same coin
- Human Nature
- Resources
- Different Lifestyles
- Criminals
- Taxation
- Equality
- Order
Conservative Liberal
Self-Interest Communal
Scarcity Plenty
Restrain Trust
Retribution Rehabilitate
Regressive Progressive
Freedom Equality Imp’t
Order Imp’t Freedom
Braunwarth’s Rule
- Braunwarth’s rule: Laws are codifications of what is acceptable to the average person;
- Half will think we are going too far, half will think we are not going far enough
- There is always a tension between outliers advocating where we need to go and those endorsing more fundamental values
Ideology Constructs Reality
- “If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences” (W. I. Thomas)
- If you want to look at reality according to either perspective, you will find a reality that conforms to your interpretation
- Neither is really “common sense”
- Depending how you look at reality, your actions and interactions will be affected; self-fulfilling prophecy
- Ultimately you create your own reality
Conservatism
- Ideological Mainstream of American politics has shifted to the right
- Why has Conservatism benefited from the growth of talk radio and not Liberalism?
- Plays better because it has easy answers
- Personal responsibility and self-reliance are easily understandable and persuasive
- This leads to clear, definite and easily defendable policy stances (less government, get tough on crime, etc.)
Conservatism and Liberalism
- In addition, conservative calls for less government naturally lend themselves to negative rhetoric and ads attacking government and politicians
- Liberalism relies on more complex justifications (social responsibility, etc.) that does not provide simple black & white answers
- This leads to inherently more ambiguous policy choices (what can government do to enable all to compete equally?)
Conservatives fight better
- Subsequently, conservatives are able to fight political battles with greater surety and zealousness
- Can you think of any contemporary examples?
Do Conservatives fight better?