Ideology and Opinion in the U.S.

* Start with a review of the political spectrum

* Ideology

- A doctrine or logic that ties a movement or way of being together

-> Ideas are mutually related and supporting

-> Fascism, communism, and other coherent political parties have one

-> Religious communities have an ideology

=> The organized beliefs of Christianity

- Americans generally do not have an ideology

-> Politically, we are eclectic

=> Any mix of ideas, no matter how contradictory, can be held

-> Ideology requires intellectualism and discipline

=> Americans are distrustful of both

=> Irregular common sense more trusted by Americans

=> The TV-driven 30 second attention span makes ideology difficult

-> A few political groups in the US have an ideology

=> The “religious right”

=> The Green Party sometimes has a clear ideology, state by state

=> Black Panthers had one

-> Polls drive our politics, making ideology difficult

=> “The people’s” whims are not systematic

=> Organized beliefs can be unpopular, so politicians avoid

+> The Clinton effect

=> Europe is rapidly moving our way

* Causes of Opinion

- “Fixed” causes

-> religion, ethnicity, class, age, gender, location

=> Born with these characteristics, people rarely leave them

- “Fluid” causes

-> Popularity of spokesperson

=> One day OJ was a good supporter, the next a disaster

-> Level of information

=> People form snap judgments, and change them when they learn more

-> Propaganda

=> The messages we are force-fed can shape our opinions

-> The economy

=> People’s relative personal financial status and hope for the future makes them generous

or harsh