Political Opinion

Definitions Political Culture: A distinctive and patterned way of thinking about how political and economic life ought to be carried out How government ought to operate Political Ideology: A more or less consistent set of views at to the policies government ought to pursue What government should do

Opinion Poll 1. Should there be a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution? 2. Should children be bused in order to achieve racial segregation? 3. Should there be an Equal Rights Amendment guaranteeing that men and women are treated equally? 4. Should Congress pass the Monetary Control Bill? 5. Should the government see to it that all people have adequate housing? For each of the following, answer “yes,” “no,” or “I don’t know”:

The Problem of Question Wording One-sided question “Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: The federal government should see to it that all people have adequate housing.” Agree: gov’t responsible55% Disagree: gov’t not responsible45%

The Problem of Question Wording Two-sided Question, gov’t option first “Some people feel that the federal government should see to it that all people have adequate housing, while others feel each person should provide for his own housing. Which is closest to your view?” Gov’t responsible44% Gov’t not responsible56%

The Problem of Question Wording Two-sided Question, gov’t option second “Some people feel each person should provide for his own housing, while others feel the federal government should see to it that all people have adequate housing. Which is closest to your view?” Gov’t responsible30% Gov’t not responsible70%

You Can’t Always Get What You Want If we live in a “democracy,” why doesn’t the government give us what the people want? A republic, not a democracy It’s not easy to know what the public thinks Some People’s opinion counts more than others How do we know what “the people” want?

Opinion Polls Opinion Polls are helpful, but suffer from Ignorance Instability Sensitivity to the way the question is worded

Three types of “publics” Elite Public: disproportionate share of political resources Attentive Public: active interest in government and politics Mass Public: Little interest in government and politics