The Political Spectrum
WHERE DO POLITICAL BELIEFS COME FROM?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A LIBERAL?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A CONSERVATIVE?
The Political Spectrum
Some assumption about people and politics:
All people have different views about how government should
accomplish its purposes.
The two basic competing political perspectives on how
government should accomplish its three purposes are called
the LIBERAL perspective and the CONSERVATIVE
perspective.
LIBERAL and CONSERVATIVE beliefs are in a continuous,
constant conflict with each other over the best way for
government to accomplish its three purposes. Sometimes one
person can be conflicted because they have liberal and
conservative beliefs.
The Political Spectrum
What does the government need to accomplish the
purposes of government
Government needs to able to force people to behave
in ways that they may not choose (coercive behavior).
POLICE!
Government needs to be able to afford the costs to
maintain order, provide public goods, and protect
property (extract wealth).
TAXES!
The US and State Government employ roughly one million
people to enforce the law (roughly 3.5 people per 1,000
population)
The US military has 1.4 million people serving in active
duty and another 1.4 million in reserves
Those personnel enforce everything from local traffic laws
to federal drug enforcement
These personnel have the legal authority to detain and even
kill violators of the law
The US military has 1.4 million people serving in active
duty and another 1.4 million in reserves
EXTRACTING WEALTH
In 2006, the IRS collected $2.2 trillion in taxes
(primarily income and corporate taxes)
Taxes are also gathered by the state of Oregon
(income tax), Clackamas county (property taxes),
City of Lake Oswego (property taxes and fees), Lake
Oswego School District (property taxes), and a
variety of utility, planning, parks, and library
districts.
Special investigators and courts have been created to
enforce these taxes
Generally speaking…
Liberals are more concerned about the coercive
power of the state (police abuse, censorship, limiting
abortion) – they tend to be less concerned about the
extractive power of the state (taxes) because those
funds are needed to pay for social spending they
support
Conservatives are more concerned about the
extractive power of the state (taxes) – they tend to be
less concerned about the coercive power of the state
which they see as needed to maintain order and
morality
POLITICAL SPECTRUM
CONSERVATIVE
More comfortable on restrictions to personal liberty (abortion, pornography,
etc . . ) to protect community morality and traditional values
Less comfortable with restrictions to economic liberty (minimum wage laws,
environmental restrictions) because it hampers the creation of jobs and wealth
LIBERAL
Less comfortable with restrictions to personal liberty (abortion, pornography,
etc . . ) to allow for individual freedom and expression
More comfortable with restrictions to economic liberty (minimum wage laws,
environmental restrictions) because it can benefit the environment and create
greater economic fairness.
So where do they stand on?
Abortion
Legalization of marijuana
Gay marriage
Pornography
Universal health care
Other beliefs…
•Libertarian
•Fundamental belief that government should be weak and
limited because government tends to be corrupted by its own
power, with the maximum amount of human freedom. So,
what should government do?
•Traditionally do not believe in Gun control, morally driven laws
like outlawing abortion or drug use. Government should be weak in the
areas of affirmative action and taxation, but does believe the primary role
is national security. Institutions that provide a public good like schools
or fire departments should be private. The government that governs least
governs best.
Other beliefs….
•Radicals
–Fundamental belief that government always serves the exclusive
needs of white, wealthy patrons, and is a tool of exploitation used on
poor and oppressed people.
–The only way to overthrow the imperial power of government is
through revolution and civil disobedience.
–Government should be a tool used to promote social equality,
social justice, and peace through cooperation.
Sources of Public Opinion
So where do people get their political beliefs?
Ideally – they form from careful study, research, debate
But we know that family, income, education. age, race, gender
and religion all influence and affect political beliefs
Family
Considered the largest predictor of political
behavior – children usually follow the political
beliefs of their parents
Only 9 percent of high school seniors are the
opposite party of their parents
By adulthood, 60 percent remain their parent’s
party and most of the rest are independents who
lean in their parent’s direction
Exception: Youth generally more liberal on race
and sexual orientation
Gender
Since the 1970’s there
has emerged a “gender
gap” as more and
more men have
shifted to the
Republican Party
49% of male voters
voted for Obama, as
opposed to 56% of
female voters in 2008
In the previous
election 55% of men
voted for Bush, while
51% voted for Kerry
Race
White voters are more
likely to vote
Republican
Minority voters tend to
vote Democrat
In 2008, Obama
received 43% of the
white vote, 95% of the
African-American vote,
67% of the Latino vote,
and 62% of the Asian
vote
In 2004 Bush received:
White 58%, African
American 11%, 44%
Latino, 44% Asian
Age
Younger voters tend to vote Democrat, older voters
tend to vote Republican
66% of 18-29 year olds voted for Obama, while
45% of those 65 and older did
45% of 18-29 year olds voted for Bush, while 52%
of those 65 and older did
Religion
Protestant voters tend to vote the most
conservative while Jewish voters the most liberal
and Catholic voters in between
In 2004 59% of Protestants voted for Bush, 52% of
Catholics, 25% of Catholic, and 23% of “other”
voters
Education and Income
Education and Income both affect voter behavior
Generally the more educated you are the more
liberal you are on social issues.
But in addition, the more wealthy you are the more
you are likely to vote Republican, the poorer you
are the more likely to vote Democrat
Education
Obama gets 63% of the
votes of people without
high school diplomas.
But that falls to 52% to
High School graduates,
51% for people with
some College and 50%
for College graduates.
But then 58% of people
with a postgraduate
degree voted for Obama.
Income
60% of people making
less than $50,000 voted
for Obama, but only 49%
of those making over
$50,000 voted for him
(at least until they
started making more
than $200,000 then
52% started voting for
him ).