Political Culture
Canadian & World Politics
www.CraigMarlatt.com/school
Political Culture
1. Political Terminology
2. Societal Beliefs Affecting Minorities
3. Why Do Governments Cooperate?
4. Religion in Politics
5. Ideologies
Political Culture
Political Culture
• Political Culture is the way in which the political
system is inserted into a larger social reality of
beliefs, attitudes, values, and norms. To be
effective, political culture:
– widespread awareness of the culture
– widespread acceptance of the system
– compliance to the system
– expectation of behaviour of government
Political Culture
• Components of Political Culture
– Customs – conventionally accepted and reinforced in
legal action of the state (e.g. government resigns if it
feels it no longer has popular support)
– Beliefs – convictions accepted in that culture (e.g.
humans are selfish, so there is a need for laws)
– Expectations – what ought to be or ought NOT to be
done by government (e.g. politicians act in the public’s
best interest; politicians don’t take bribes)
– Symbols – flag, anthem, shield, logos, etc.
Political Culture
– Laws – norms of behaviour set out in legislation
– Values – attitudes toward what is right and desirable
(e.g. the right to be free and to pursue goals within the
limits of the law – Charter of Rights)
– Institutions – the structures set out to accomplish all
of the decisions (e.g. ministries, agencies, crown
corporations, etc.)
– Skills – the knowledge and procedures for achieving
desired goals
Influences on Politics
• There are many ways in which members of a
society acquire and pass along their attitudes and
values about the political system.
• The particular values that hold sway, as well as
the relative influence and methods of these
agents, vary across societies to produce fairly
distinctive cultures.
Influences on Politics
• Key Political Writings
– Karl Marx
– Friedrich Engels
– Mao Tse-Tung
• Ethnicity and Language Composition
– Aboriginal population
– home language
– immigration, citizenship, and national origin
– mother tongue
Influences on Politics
• The Family
– use and abuse of power relations
– discipline
– gender roles
– whom to trust and whom to help
– what responsibilities one bears to others
– composition
• married couples with or without children
• other families with or without children
• people living alone
Influences on Politics
• The Media
– Noam Chomsky et al
– what gets reported
– what doesn’t get reported
– unsubstantiated reports
– concentrated ownership of media outlets
• Religion
– many different religions
– varying degrees of separation of church and state
– atheist effect on politics
Influences on Politics
• Education
– varying education levels
– government controlled curricula
– ways of educating students
– filling quotas
• The Workplace
– management v. unions
– labour laws (of lack thereof)
– employment, underemployment, and unemployment
Influences on Politics
• Of particular interest in Canada….
– British Influence
–
–
–
–
American Influence
Feminism
Environmentalism
Nationalism
} examples?
Nations and States
• Nation – a group of people with set of common
biological and psychological characteristics –
there is prestige to be considered a “nation” and
suggests political viability as a state (e.g. Metis,
French Canadians)
Nations and States
• National Identity – usually a combination of race,
religion, and government with subgroups:
– Race – biologically defined group whose members
share a gene pool giving them common physical
characteristics (e.g. skin, eye, and hair colour)
– Tribe – a defined group of people who are tied
together psychologically by a myth of common
ancestry and who think of themselves as blood
relations (obviously includes elements of biological
connection as well)
– Ethnic Group – a mixture of biological and
psychological elements for a group of people who
share a common descent (e.g. “Japanese-Canadian”
or “Polish-Canadian”)
Nations and States
• State – self-governing political entity
– Homogenous State – one culture e.g. United States
– Heterogeneous State – many cultures –
“multinational” e.g. Poland, Israel
• Nation-State – exists where common identities of
a nation coincide with the boundaries of a
sovereign authority
– Binational State – e.g. Canada (originally)
– Multinational State – e.g. India, former Soviet Union
– Multi-state Nation – e.g. The Koreas
Nations and States
• What is Canada today?
– homogeneous v. heterogeneous
– one nation v. binational v. multinational?
Society
• Society needs rules – conflicts are inevitable as
various groups pursue self-interests
– need for government to arbitrate – “the machinery”
– politics is the various interests attempting to move
decisions in their direction
Society
• In order to carry out the decisions, government
needs power:
– force
– coercion
– persuasion – through influence
– authority – followed because they are believed to be
right
• traditional
• natural
• moral
• legal
• charisma
Society
• Power alone tends to lead to its own negation
(revolt!) if the society does not like the decisions.
There must be legitimacy – the acceptance by
society of the government’s right to hold power.
– traditional acceptance of leaders
– legal acceptance – the right to lead is based on the
law
– followership – people tend to follow “leaders”
Society
• Governments are constantly striving for legitimacy
so that society will follow. This is a struggle for all
leaders. Most governments use all of the
legitimacy areas.
• With modern states, there comes a question of
sovereignty – to be discussed later.
Societal Beliefs Affecting Minorities
• How does a society’s view of minorities help and
hinder those minorities?
PROS CONS
Action Example Action Example
Immigration Settlement of the Racial Profiling Toronto Police
Policies West, 1890s Service,
2000s
Multiculturalism Ministry of Restriction of Jews and Others,
Programs Canadian Rights WW2
Heritage,
1990s →
Why Do Governments Cooperate?
• Brainstorm pairing or groups of countries whose
governments tend to work well together. What
factors make them so willing to cooperate with
one another?
Countries Reasons for Cooperation
Canada, United States similar culture
similar social and economic values
United States, United Kingdom
Soviet Union, Cuba
Norway, Sweden, Finland
Religion in Politics
• Eastern Religions and Politics
– Hinduism
– Confucianism
– Buddhism
• Western Religion and Politics
– Judaism
– Catholicism
– Islam
– Protestantism
Religion in Politics
• Hinduism
– oldest of major world religions
– believe in a single divinity that is present in everything
– through reincarnation, at death a soul passes from
one body to another – good actions in this life lead to
a better situation in the next incarnation
– rules for diet, family, caste (hereditary social class),
and politics
– doctrine of non-violence, or ahimsa, was the basis for
Mahatma Gandhi’s use of civil disobedience – some
Hindus opposed Gandhi
Religion in Politics
• Confucianism
– Confucius (551–449 BCE) created a system of “right
living” known as ren
– Confucius taught rulers to act humanely toward their
subjects
– parents, teachers, and government officials were the
guardians of this civic religion (no priests)
– all human relationships involved defined roles and
mutual obligations – a social hierarchy
– egalitarianism – the promotion of equality
– co-existed with Buddhism and Taoism well, until Mao
Zedong outlawed all religions in 1949
Religion in Politics
• Buddhism
– Siddhartha Gautama (ca. 563–483 BCE) preached
that enlightenment was to be found in the Middle
Way, the path that lies between indulgence and
asceticism (rigid self-discipline)
– many characteristics of Hinduism were adopted
– a “buddha” is someone who has awakened to the true
nature of universal cause and effect, and whose
awareness transcends birth, suffering, and death
– Emperor Ashoka made Buddhism the state religion of
India and spread it throughout southeast Asia and the
Middle East – diaspora of Tibetans spread it further
Religion in Politics
• Judaism
– Romans destroyed the Temple of Jerusalem in 70 CE,
forcing Jewish people to spread throughout the world
(diaspora)
– in some “host countries”, they were accepted and
given much religious freedom; in others, they were
viewed as outsiders and treated with hostility
– although both Jews and Arabs are Semitic peoples,
“anti-Semitism” has come to mean hatred of the
Jewish people
– Hitler’s Holocaust (1933-1945) was the most extreme
example of anti-Semitic behaviour
Religion in Politics
• Catholicism
– led by the pope, who is seen as the successor to
Saint Peter as Christ’s representative on Earth
– eastern and western churches evolved
• western Christians used Catholicism to political
advantages (carrying out the Spanish Inquisition, creating
denominational schools, and discouraging divorce, abortion)
• eastern Christians saw themselves as Orthodox – following
the principles of the original religion
• excommunication of two leaders in 1054 finished the schism
• John Paul II reached out to the east, but no reconciliation
Religion in Politics
• Islam
– Islam is an Arabic word that means “submission”
– a follower of Islam is called a “Muslim,” which means
“one who submits to the will of Allah”
– Muhammad (570–632 CE) recorded the word of Allah,
in the Qur’an, the holy book of Islam
– there is no separation of church and state in Islamic
countries – no discrimination based on race or class
– Christians and Muslims began fighting over access to
holy sites in Jerusalem
– political violence contradicts Islam’s traditional
teachings - jihad (holy war) is actually the ongoing
inner struggle of conscience to be a better Muslim
Religion in Politics
• Protestantism
– is the politics of dissent
– Martin Luther (1483–1546) and the Protestant
Reformation opposed the power of the Roman
Catholic Church
– England’s Act of Supremacy made the king or queen
of England the head of the new Church of England
– John Calvin, John Knox, and others appealed to the
middle classes and gave rise to political democracies
– Calvinism, Presbyterianism, and political voices of
conscience such as Quakers are all forms of
Protestantism
Religion in Politics
• Religious Fundamentalism
• Secularism
• Individuals in Politics and Religion
• Religion in Politics Today
• Separation of Church and State
Religion in Politics
• Religious Fundamentalism
– In Christianity, fundamentalists feel that the state must
be subservient to God – most evident in N Ireland
– the degree of state backing of a state religion varies
– there are numerous countries in the world with official
religions, recognizing one of the Roman Catholic,
Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, Islamic, Buddhist,
Hindu, and Jewish religions
Religion in Politics
• Secularism
– is a policy of avoiding entanglement between
government and religion
– Disestablishment is the process of divesting a
church of its status as an organ of the state
– those who wish to continue with an established
church take a position of
antidisestablishmentarianism (!)
– the First Amendment to the US Constitution explicitly
bans the federal government from setting up a state
church
Religion in Politics
• Individuals in Politics and Religion
– religious leaders and thinkers have been powerful
voices of conscience in the secular world of politics
– interplay of politics and religion within specific
individuals can be significant
• Mohandas Gandhi and Indian Nationalism
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Anti-Nazism
• Mother Teresa and the Politics of Poverty
• The Dalai Lama and the Defence of Tibet
• Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Apartheid
Religion in Politics
• Religion in Politics Today
– Religion plays a significant role in politics in many
different parts of the world
• Ireland and Northern Ireland (UK)
• India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh
• Israel and Palestine
• China
• Iran
• United States
Religion in Politics
• Separation of Church and State
– at the structural level of government, separation of
church and state may be clear
– at the everyday level, however, religious beliefs
frequently impinge on political procedures and
decision making
• Should a legislative session open with a prayer?
• Should church property be exempt from taxation?
• Should religious symbols be allowed in public schools and
government offices?
• Should religious beliefs have precedence over human rights
legislation?
Religion in Politics
1. Explain why in Hinduism every political decision
is also a religious decision.
2. In what ways was Confucianism an
indispensable component of political stability in
China?
3. How was Buddhism adopted and adapted by
several Chinese emperors and the governments
of various dynasties?
4. How did the Jewish people maintain their
cultural identity despite the Diaspora?
5. Why were Jews often isolated socially and
politically?
Religion in Politics
6. Describe the relationship between the Roman
Catholic Church and Henry IV of Germany,
Ferdinand of Spain, and Louis XIV of France.
7. Why did the Catholic Church split into the
Western and Eastern churches?
8. What is the relationship between religion and
government in Islam?
9. Why did Calvinism appeal to the middle
classes?
10. How did the Protestant Reformation affect the
relationship between church and state?
Political Ideologies
• Ideology: A connected set of beliefs about
people and society, which general consists of
some of the following:
– a set of basic assumptions about human nature and
society
– an interpretation of the past
– an explanation of the present
– a vision for the future
– a goal for which to strive (usually Utopian) and a
strategy to achieve this
Political Ideologies
– heroes (martyrs, leaders, founding fathers, etc.) and
rituals (pledges, anthems, sacred documents, etc.)
– a strong emotional appeal
– a simple, easily understood picture of the world,
which is claims is the truth
• Why have ideologies?
– help people understand their society
– allow people and governments to explain past actions
– used by governments and societies to set future goals
and policies
Political Ideologies
• Examples of Ideologies
– liberalism
– Nazism
– fascism
– communism
– liberalism
– totalitarianism
– conservatism
– socialism
Political Ideologies in Canada
Political Ideologies in Canada
• Conservative Party
• Reform Party and Canadian Conservative
Reform Alliance Party (acronyms anyone?!)
• Bloc Québécois
• Liberal Party
• New Democratic Party
Political Ideologies in Canada
• Conservative Party
Political Ideologies in Canada
• Reform Party and Canadian
Alliance Party
Political Ideologies in Canada
• Bloc Québécois
Political Ideologies in Canada
• Liberal Party
Political Ideologies in Canada
• New Democratic Party
Political Ideologies in Canada
• Group Presentations
– Liberal
– Conservative
– Socialist
Origins of Political Ideologies
• Classical Liberalism
– Adam Smith – Wealth of Nations
– major changes in Europe…
• Industrial Revolution
• Urbanization
– …. which results in the creation of the middle class
which has no political power but has lots of money
– middle class begins to challenge traditional authority
and revolts against the government (1789 French
Revolution)
Origins of Political Ideologies
• liberals see this as justified, they support Smith’s ideas and
oppose absolutism – they later split into our modern day
“liberals” and “conservatives”
• conservatives don’t like this challenge to the traditional
authority, they resist change
– 1980s - Iron Lady, Ronny, Boy from Baie Comeau
Origins of Political Ideologies
• Reform Liberalism
– John Maynard Keynes (and others)
– focused on freedoms in life
• pot, porn, gay rights, etc…
• “The State has no business in the bedrooms of the nation.”
– more democratic, interventionist in economics
• trying to guarantee a minimum standard of living
– more eager to provide collective goods via the state
• UI, CPP, …. redistribution of wealth by progressive income
tax, etc.
Origins of Political Ideologies
– rose out of the concerns for the new working class of
the Industrial Revolution
– today, growth of large corporations and reduction in
the number of competitors in key markets are of
concern
Origins of Political Ideologies
• Conservative Principles
– reverence for the past (e.g. Queen)
– organic conception of society (e.g. societies are
greater than the sum of their parts)
– constitutional continuity
– opposition to revolution
– cautious reform
– religious basis of state
– divine source of legitimate authority
– priority of duties to rights
Origins of Political Ideologies
– loyalty
– common sense and pragmatism
– economic orientation – market economy
– examples
• Lord’s Prayer at school
• Sunday shopping
• women covered in Muslim states
• class system
• the “American Dream”
• slavery in the southern United States
Origins of Political Ideologies
– Neo-Conservatism
• mainly economics
• rising out of rising debts,
growing size of government
and taxes
Origins of Political Ideologies
• Socialism
– emerges in the 19th century as a response to the
horrors of the Industrial Revolution
• working conditions
• living conditions
• lack of response by the liberal governments
– “a political and economic theory in which the means of
production and distribution are owned, managed, or
controlled by a central, democratically elected
authority”
– based on some form of “Utopian” vision
– planning by government, public ownership, equality of
outcome, collectivism
Origins of Political Ideologies
– Utopian Socialists
• create ideal societies (communes) so all can see the
benefits
• democratically created institutions
– Revolutionary Socialists
• appeal to action
• went beyond economics to sociology – alienation
• aka ___________________
Communism