Discuss American political culture. The term political culture lately has become part of everyday language in modern societies. In the press, the media, and even in casual conversation, often referring to the political culture is made to explain the attitudes, reactions or even the general behavior of a population that may explain the differences between societies. So political culture can be defined as an inherent product of shared values, beliefs, symbols, norms and customs that are passed down from generation to generation that provides a unique identity to the members of certain communities about the specific ideals environments and subjective perception of the standards operation of any government system. Therefore, political culture of …show more content…
So basically the main difference between these two are; culture is based on the background and history that affects decision-making of a society and its shared collective experiences, images and ideas gives people a sense of belonging. Political ideology guides and gives individuals and groups to an explicit system of thoughts and beliefs in how society in general sees things that can be good or wrong. As a result of these political views, American society is a based on a democracy system of government in which people choose and holds their leaders accountable. Liberty, equality and self-government autonomy are the three fundamental core values expressed in the declaration of independence, that way these values are a valuable bulwark for the continued existence of our great nation that are passed from generation to generation and covers all forms of religion, sex, socioeconomic background, nationality. For example; most people in America are classical liberals, because we believe in the freedom of individuals, this include: religion, speech, assembly and press, as well as the limitation of the powers of government as part of our political culture. On the other hand, the political culture of China has a profound rejection of liberalism due to their political view, ideology and the authoritarian …show more content…
As a result, gives lack of resources for the central government to survive and maintain peace and order in the new nation formed. Due the eminent problems and economic turmoil arise in the nation as consequence of the government serious weaknesses, the framers of the constitution initiate the drafting of the constitution, as a national legislature to establishes executive leadership polices (real government power but with limited power authority based on separation of powers) and to bring economic stability to the country. The main purposes of the constitution were: limit the power of the federal government (fear of a powerful authoritarian government), protect the interests of minorities against injustice (against incursion by the government), serving the interests of people and the natural right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness through an agreement between people to form a government to secure their rights and welfare follow their rules (Social contract). The initial discussion focuses on the formation of a central government under a constitution, The initial discussion focuses on the formation of a central government under the constitution, at the convention they agreed on the followings: the formation of a bicameral
a document needed to be created to strengthen the central government and at the same
The Constitution of the United States is one of the most iconic and important documents of all time. However, when it was first generated, its writing and ratification caused some major concerns. The purpose of the Constitution was to address the great number of issues of a new nation. To be more specific, the Constitution was meant to resolve the political, economic, and social problems of the country. Nevertheless, the document spurred much discussion and concern over people’s rights, the economy, and political corruption.
A constitution is the system of fundamental principles according to which a nation is governed. Our founding fathers created the US Constitution to set specific standards for our country. We must ask ourselves why our founding fathers created the Constitution in the first place. America revolted against the British due to their monarchy form of government. After the American Revolution, each of the original 13 colonies operated under its own rules of government. Most states were against any form of centralized rule from the government. They feared that what happened in England would happen again. They decided to write the Articles of Confederation, which was ratified in 1781. It was not effective and it led to many problems. The central government could not regulate commerce between states, deal with foreign governments or settle disputes. The country was falling apart at its seams. The central government could not provide assistance to the state because there wasn’t a central army. When they realized that the Articles of Confederation was not up to par, they held a convention, known as the Constitutional Convention of 1787. As a result of t...
Constitution is a necessary feature as it defines how power is disseminated within the government and establishes the rights of the citizens and the laws and rules for the country. In order to be successful, a country’s should reflect and satisfy every citizen’s needs and interests.
“Early in the convention, the delegates agreed on the need for a stronger national government than the Articles had created, but there was conflict over how best to structure a representative democracy that would protect liberties, with property rights a priority for the delegates.” Slavery was also a major conflict that needed to be addressed. The delegates worked through the conflicts and reached compromises they could all support. They had to balance their preference for a strong central government with the citizens ' distrust of a strong central government. Ultimately, the delegates framed a new constitution, establishing new foundational government structures and operating procedures to achieve the principles laid out in the Declaration of Independence. Thereafter, proponents of the proposed new constitution would win its ratification only after acknowledging the need to amend it quickly by adding a bill of rights to limit the power of the national government it created. The framers created an innovative system of government with dual sovereignty—a system of government in which ultimate governing authority is divided between two levels of government—a central government and regional governments—with each level having ultimate authority over different policy
While fixing the issues of the Articles of Confederation, the new constitution also led to fighting between different groups, and making compromises which led to ultimately winning ratification. The US constitution was written with great detail and speculation on the economy. In producing Constitution, it provides the laws and rights of the people of the land and directs its attention to many of the problems this country has. This Constitution was greater at the central government power and was weaker at the state level. Congress was given the power to tax, regulate trade between the states, raise an army, etc. A three-branch government was established in which a judicial branch handled disputes in a federal court system, a President the head of the executive branch, and a legislative
Political culture is broadly shared values, beliefs, and attitudes about how government and society should function. Gov. Rick Perry speaks supporting strong Texas state government and minimal federal government intervention. Based on Texas’s founding origins, and experiences and orientation toward the marketplace (pro big business), who should participate in government, and the role of government. The three state political culture categories are moralistic, individualistic, and traditionalistic. Texas is a mix of traditionalistic and moralistic according to our textbook. The moralistic New England Puritanism view of the common good, government should promote public good. Individualistic view of government to provide order and protect property
The question asked “ Based on your understanding of the text and class lectures, do you know enough about American Parties and elections to understand contemporary American politics?” (Take Home Test). To answer this question I would say yes I have learned enough in this class to say that I do understand enough about contemporary American politics in general. I do however believe that American politics is a living thing and that change can happen at any time and no one can learn or know enough about contemporary American politics. I think the most useful things that we learned in class to help with a general understanding is how the system works and the over abundance of problems that the system does have. The basic concepts that
The new Constitution of the United States, ratified in 1789 by James Madison, created an entirely new system within America, which had never been attempted before. The first consideration to make is the new institutions created by the Constitution. Before its adoption, America was operating under the Articles of Confederation This document offered us a set of universal values out of which laws and codes have emerged and have been carried out . As such, it symbolizes the essence of constitutionality—that government must be restrained by the rule of law. The constitution has succeed in its ability to encourage government by wise forward statesman, In addition the creation of the three branches has discourages the negative effect of factions and has restrain government from taking more power than entrusted to it, Additionally it has restrains itself particular from using that power to reduce individual liberty.
The idea of political culture is found within the state’s history. The history of the state is impacted by the people settled in the region, religious backgrounds, and geography. The history of the state influences the attitudes and beliefs that people hold regarding their political system. Daniel Elazar theorized a connection between the states’ history and attitude towards government by explaining differences in government between states. Every state is different with some common ground. Elazar’s theory divides states into three types: moralistic, traditionalistic and individualistic. The state’s constitution defines the powers of government with political culture bias. Because of the state constitution, the political culture influences the power and limitations of governors, legislative, and judiciaries.
Throughout the world there are many diverse political cultures. A political culture is the attitudes, beliefs or practices among a group of likeminded individuals.(Giardino pg. 27) There are different categories that embrace a political culture like an Individualistic, traditionalistic and moralistic. An individualistic culture is one that prefers less government involvement. The traditionalistic culture maintains government as the social and economic hierarchy and does not like change. The moralistic culture favors public good and it revolves around social issues. Demographics such as population size, growth, distribution and diversity among other factors are what shape its political culture.
1) What is political culture? What is the makeup of the political culture in the United States? Give two examples of how the political culture of the United States helps to unite Americans, even in disagreement.
In a country such as Canada where there is an immensely diverse population that holds different ideals, values, and beliefs, it is necessary to have various political parties to reflect such things. Political parties are composed of people who share common goals and values based on an understanding of what is beneficial for the country, as well as themselves. These people are devoted to a specific approach in governing, and their philosophy is expressed in their policies, or platform. For these members to gain a position in the House of Commons in Canada, they must persuade voters of their electoral district to support their party’s platforms. Voters select their choice according to which party fosters the ideals closest to which they wish to be governed by. It is not reasonable to expect that the entire population will agree on every matter, which is precisely why modern democracy is executed through representation by vote. In order for there to be a true democracy in place, there must be choices for the voter. These choices translate into a system of values and principles, which in turn translate to these organized entities that we call political parties. This paper highlights the functions that political parties serve in the House of Commons, and also argues that they diminish the democratic characteristics and responsibilities of the House of Commons.
Culture can simply be defined as ‘way of life’ of a group of people. It is about the way groups do things. There can be several ways of thinking about and studying culture. Gail McDonald studied the culture of America through four concepts that include “big, rich, new and free”. (McDonald)For this essay, I would like to define and analyze the American culture in terms of ‘freedom’. I selected this dimension because it has been one of the most distinct dimensions of American culture and it has contributed a lot in making what America is today. It will be interesting to analyze how this cultural dimension has contributed shaping the culture of the United States through the course of time.
Civic Culture is regarded by many political scientists as the most important factor for a nation to possess to maintain healthy a democracy. However, while scholars like Robert D. Putnam agree with this assertion, Civic culture is not enough to sustain a healthy democracy in a country, it must be paired with the ‘right’ of the four aspects of civic culture (unbiased media, cross cutting cleavages with memberships, etc.) as well as paired with a dependable economy, I will show this through an examination of cases studies of Italy and Germany.