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Us political culture
In your own words what is the difference between liberalism and conservatism example
Difference between liberalism and conservatism
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The political culture of the United States is an ever changing entity that shifts in accordance to the popular beliefs and opinions of the nation’s people. Political culture contains the non-partisan views that in general virtually all American’s agree on; views such as the right to the pursuit of happiness, democracy, civic duty and equality. The different ways in which we choose to address these issues and the way in which we expect our government to address these issues is where we begin to see the political culture divide into separate ideologies. And while we can make generalizations about the left and right wing of political ideologies that create clear lines and definition for either side the reality is political ideologies exist on …show more content…
Modern Liberalism in contrast to conservatism runs on a basis of federal government regulations and imposed legislation that guarantees and protect equality especially of historically and systemically marginalized group such a women, the poor, and people of color. Liberalism favors a more active federal government that ha vested interest in the welfare of its citizens. Though there are differing stances on the role and extent to which federal taxes should fund programs such as welfare, postsecondary education, and health care within liberalism the vast majority agree that the majority of taxes used to fund such programs should come from the wealthiest class of Americans and otherwise only those who could afford it. Unlike conservatives liberal agendas oppose school lead prayer and demand clearly defined separation of church and state. This defined separation is a preventative measure as the Christian majority would most likely have disproportionate influence and impose law and regulation most closely resembling their religious beliefs thus impeding the non-Christian minorities’ first amendment right to freedom of religion. Largely liberals support the efforts of government agencies like the EPA who fight against man made climate change and environmental disasters through the regulation of industrial polluters and implementing individual laws. The common liberal stance on abortion is one that is pro-choice similar to libertarians majority of liberals oppose the government 's regulation of individual autonomy. Finally amongst the defining features of a modern liberal is the belief that the constitution was written as a purposefully vague outline meant only to guide the American government open to interpretation and is subject to changes as society
Increasingly over the past two decades and in part thanks to the publication of James Davison Hunter’s book, Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America, the idea of a culture war in American politics has been gaining attention. While the tension between conservatives and liberals is palpable, it’s intensity has proven hard to measure. However, it doesn’t seem that many Americans are polarized on the topic of polarization as most would agree that the culture war is real (Fiorina, 2005). This thinking is what prompted Morris Fiorina to write the book Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America. In it, Fiorina outlines an argument against the idea of a culture war by looking at party affiliation by states, how public opinion on hot button issues changed over time and various explanations for why Americans are so hung up on the topic of polarization. While Fiorina makes a good argument, the evidence supporting the culture war is too powerful to explain away.
The book Culture Wars? The Myth of a Polarized America by Morris P. Fiorina, Samuel J. Abrams, and Jeremy C. Pope is a persuasive text regarding America and its division on political topics.
The typical philosophical ideals of the liberals seem to focus on the government helping the little guy and leveling the playing field. They oppose tax cuts for the rich, they are distrustful of big-business and those who are wealthy. They like government programs that help minorities and those with lower incomes. They want to raise the minimum wage, provide better national healthcare and provide better unemployment and welfare coverage’s. They nearly always side with unions over management, the guy who sues the big business.
American states each have individual political cultures which are important to our understanding of their political environments, behavior, and responses to particular issues. While voters probably do not consciously think about political culture and conform to that culture on election day, they seem to form cohesive clusters in different areas of the state, creating similar group political ideologies. Because of these similarities, it is possible to measure the dominant political culture within states or areas of a state, gaining insight into the mind-set of state residents. Whatever the state culture, whether liberal or conservative, participatory or exclusive, political culture identifies dominant, state-wide trends. The question remains whether there is an accurate way to measure this political culture phenomenon in the United States.
Liberals usually have the perspective that the government should help the people much more than they do presently, with more programs such as welfare (etc.). Liberals generally agree that the government should intervene, regulate, and promote the economy and ensure fairness in society always. Government policies are indeed needed and necessary for citizens to fulfill their daily needs. Most also do agree with a "free-market" society, however, they stress the need for government policies.
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.
Essentially, liberalism is a political philosophy that stresses individual liberty, freedom and equality of opportunity. The liberal feels more faith should be placed in progress and they prefer to look forward to the future, as opposed to the conservative focus on the past. Accordingly, liberals feel a return to a traditional morality is unrealistic, because this is a morality based on the inequality of women, and the moral values of the 1950?s. Inherently, this is repressive. Liberals believe government should intervene concerning economic affairs to protect its citizens from exploitation by multi-national corporations. One of the key elements of the liberal stance is a government, which should be large and strong enough to protect its people. For example, many social programs such as sex education, social security and health insurance would not exist without big government. Moreover, E.J. Dionne Jr. believes, ?the entire project of freedom going back to America?s founders rests not on weak government, but rather on an energetic government, a government strong enough to pro...
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.
A liberal in older days was not what one would be today; they were considered a person whom sought to use change, while a conservative is one who opposed change. The differences between a liberal and a conservative is a wide gap that focuses upon the fundamental beliefs of those within each group. Pure liberals are people who show themselves as liberal on both economic policy and personal conduct. This means "that they want the government to reduce economic inequality, regulate business, tax the rich heavily, cure the (presumably) economic causes of crime, allow abortions, protect the rights of the accused, and guarantee the broadest possible freedoms of speech and press." (Wilson, 121)
Liberalism is a political ideology that has been prominent in modern times. The foundation of which are the concepts of liberty and equality. The meaning and application of these words in society are heavily debated. A broad few of these terms and a look at the people who have defined Liberalism will provide a depth of understanding into modern societies.
American Politics is a system that has many controversial points of views. Ideals differ based on people’s beliefs and experiences. Liberalism is based on the belief of equality and liberty. People who favor this ideal support any principle that provides its citizens with the freedom of their unalienable rights life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Conservatism on the other hand retains to traditional values and favors the economy.
To understand these morality and mutual support government has a number of key themes that I will explain in this paragraph. The first key theme is the individual and his/her rights in the liberalism. The liberalism is the hearts of the individuals (Harrison and Boyd 202). Each individual has equal value and they are capable to understand what is good or bad for them. Equality and justice are the best form to understand the liberalism. Some individual claims that as a matter of fact, they think that some individual act rationally and choose what they need to be in their own interests. In the 20th century, liberals have promoted the homosexual rights, gender and racial equality, rights for the disabled and civil rights in general (Harrison and Boyd 203). Liberals are also given the authority of the freedom of speech and with that we have the authority to say what is right or wrong. The second key theme is a belief in progress. Belief in progress, we can say that how the individual (human nature) believe in themselves that they can do anything they wish want to do and they are aware that what is bad or good for them. Liberals look to the future with optimism and believe that social improvements not only possible and desirable but is also likely to take place over the long term (Harrison and Boyd 204). The third key theme is the commitment to freedom. The liberal attitudes to the human nature, progress and the individual, all come together in the very high value place of freedom (Harrison and Boyd 204). This freedom includes so many freedoms. For example, freedom of nations and groups oppression, freedom of economic activity, and freedom of thought and expression. Freedom cannot be absolute, there must be restraint who in exercising their own liberty (Harrison and Boyd 205). The government should therefore create the condition in which moral life is possible and the wildest possible
The concept of liberalism has been an ever changing political concept since the dawn of humans. In order to dissect liberalism and its main ideas, we must identify what it means as well as the core ideas that compose of it. Generally speaking, liberalism is the ideology where liberty and equality are valued with government constrained by checks and balances. It recognizes the uniqueness of individuals, but also emphasizes that they all share the same status in society. Liberalism also has subcategories or key principles, which include individualism, freedom, rationalism, and toleration to name a couple. The key principles that will be focused on are individualism, freedom, and rationalism. These ideas are essential to liberalism and will be summarised to gain
I am a liberal. Modern liberalism in the United States is associated with the ideas of liberty and political equality; its advocates favor change in the social, political, and economic realms to better protect the well-being of individuals and to produce equality within society. My liberal views align with the Democratic Party on almost every single issue.
The American Political System The American political system is a federal system, which consists of