What are the two main sources of America's unique political culture?
1.) Our free market economic system
2.) America's continuing interest in religious matters
Political Culture
a distinctive and patterned way of thinking about how political and economic life ought to be carried out
In general, how do Americans view economic and political equality?
favor political but not economic equality
List five elements given in the American view of their political system
1.) liberty
2.) equality in political opportunity
3.) democracy-government should be accountable to the people
4.) civic duty- taking community
5.) individual responsibility
Why is it that Americans generally favor free enterprise, which is still true after the recent gross abuses in corporate America?
because even with its frequent abuses, it is still seen as fair
What what is that the federal government mandated that all CEOs at major corporations file in August--at risk of legal action?
contraceptive mandate
Why do civil rights groups and feminists support eh idea of preferential set-aside?
These groups believe that the roots of inequality are found in the foundations of our economic system "A man to a woman is as a fish to a bicycle
List two ways in which Swedes differ from Americans politically
1.) they defer to bureaucratic experts
2.) Swedes generally participate in politics only by voting
Americans have a strong belief in civid duty and civid competence. What do those two things mean respectively?
civic duty= everyone has an obligation to participate in civic and public affairs
civic competence= a belief that one can affect government politics
Through Americans tend to vote at a lower rate than Europeans, what sorts of things do Americans do at the same or higher rate than people do i most European countries/
campaign for candidates, attend political meetings (city council), being active in the local community
How do Americans and Europeans differ in their confidence in their political institutions?
Americans have more confidence in their government but don't necessarily trust them
How did Swedish leaders and American leaders differ on the question of workers' pay?
Swedes favor more equality in pay; Americans are more willing to tolerate disparity
How do Americans relate the concepts of freedom and equality?
to Americans, freedom is more important than equality when dealing with markets
Compare the religious beliefs of Americans and most Europeans
Americans are more religious than Europeans
What does our "adversarial spirit" in our American political culture represent?
the American public's preoccupation with rights
How did early American Protestantism affect the growth of American political culture?
It installed what is known as the Protestant work ethic; the concept of person achievement
All aspects of culture, political and otherwise, are transmitted generationally by what?
your family
What is class consciousness and how has it impacted Americans?
thinking of one's self as a worker whose interests are in opposition to management
It historically had little impact on the average American