2 pages politics paper.

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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?