Pols 207 Political Culture: 02/01/23

A shared framework of values, beliefs, and habits of behavior in regard to government and politics is known as...

• social norms

• civil-service bureaucracy

• extreme individualism

• political culture

Texas political culture is distinctively influenced by which of the following? (Select all that apply)

• the state's great size and relative geographic isolation until the 20th century

• the belief that government advances the public interest and is a positive force in the lives of citizens

• long held, ferocious dislike for being told what to do because of the Texas Revolution

• a mixture of "Old South" and "Frontier" attitudes including unmistakable conservatism and extreme individualism

Answer explanation

The state's size, "Wild West" attitude, and dislike for overbearing government stemming from its time as part of Mexico are some of the main contributions to its political culture!

Political scientist ______ published his causal theory for why different geographic regions of the U.S. held largely uniform political ideologies.

• Daniel Elazar

• Easton

• Deutsch

• Colin Woodard

Answer explanation

Daniel Elazar was interested in explaining why there are such distinct, varying yet uniformed viewpoints that exists and are held so strongly in the U.S.

Which of the following are TRUE of theories and their vital role in science? (Select all that apply)

• Theories aren't proofs, but ideas that express a specific causal mechanism

• The best ones are elegant and offer a lot of explanatory power while often ignoring unexplained aspects

• One phenomenon can be "explained" by different theories

• Theories are "lenses" that help us focus on particular aspects of a phenomenon

Daniel Elazar theorized that the only causal force of political culture in the U.S. is _____ ?

Answer explanation

Elazar argues that clusters of immigrants with distinct cultures and values moved from specific homelands into certain areas of the U.S. This was then followed by the migration of their culture and values within the U.S. as their descendants moved along known paths who continued to carry cultural characteristics of their parents. Not all scholars agreed with his theory because causality derived from a single source is extremely rare. Many believe this is an area in which multiple causality is a better fit for explanation of why Americans hold the political culture they now do.

One of Elazar's three political culture classifications that describes the role of government as limited and claims material self-interest is a key motivator of individuals is known as...

• moralistic

• individualistic

• traditionalistic

• conservative

Answer explanation

Elazar describes those who are individualistic as believing that the marketplace and individual initiative are primary, while the government is secondary. The role of government should be limited and it should serve mainly to make way for private initiative and protect individual rights. This category also entails the notion that possessing wealth and power are good qualifiers for working in government since those who have such obviously have experience achieving success. In addition, politicians run for office in order to self-advance their interests and, therefore, corruption is tolerated because politics is dirty by nature.

Civil-service bureaucracy can be accuracy described by which of the following?

• political scientists and economists working for a private firm

• political campaigners serving a particular party around election time

• elected officials kept in office by the people

• any worker hired by the government

Answer explanation

Bureaucrats are all of the hired workers of the government as opposed to being elected. They include tax accountants, help desk receptionists, street sweepers, etc. They are generally hired and promoted because they have proven to the government they can do their job well. Those who fall under Elazar's Individualistic category view bureaucrats negatively because they believe that those working in such positions should have their best interest in mind, rather than appeasing to such government bosses.

One of Elazar's three political culture classifications that describes the role of government as being a force for good for the people and to advance public interest in opposed to that of any specific individual or group is known as...

• traditionalistic

• moralistic

• puritanism

• individualistic

Answer explanation

Those that fall under this category believe in the idea of a "commonwealth." Rather than the competitive and partisan nature described by the individualistic category, politics revolve around issues that affect an entire society and solutions that serve a community as a whole. Because of this, corruption is not tolerated. Additionally, the notion that it is a citizen's duty to serve in politics one way or another is commonly held by this category, making those who work in civil service bureaucracy seen favorably as it is mostly aimed to achieve the public good.

One of Elazar's three political culture classifications that describes the role of government as utilitarian in order to serve the elite who created it to serve them is known as...

• elitism

• moralistic

• traditionalistic

• individualistic

Answer explanation

The motto of this classification is "elite lineage is all that matters." Who you are and what family you are from is the key that opens all doors. According to this viewpoint, government was created by a group of colonial elites and was made to protect land and look after their interests. Therefore, government should do what it was originally intended to do, including maintaining existing social order and economic hierarchy. This group doesn't necessarily include those who are of self-made wealth because they do not meet the criteria if they do not come from an "elite" family. They are ambivalent towards the common good because they only need those below them to be satisfied enough to not disrupt the elites. Politicians have a family obligation to serve, while ordinary people are not expected to vote. Politics is competition between rival factions rather than those trying to gain power, and civil service bureaucracy is viewed suspiciously because it can interfere with personal relationships.

Texan political culture is considered a hybrid of these two types of political culture described by Elazar (Select all that apply)

• Traditionalistic

• Moralistic

• Individualistic

• Conservative

Answer explanation

Texas political culture is a hybrid of Elazar's classifications known as Traditionalistic and Individualistic. Ideas of limited government and that power belongs to private entities is popular, and policies favored tend to be those that do little to change preexisting social and economic classes.