Political culture= concept from anthropology, but also from sociology, similar with political information - not the most appropriate definition because every individual has a certain degree of political culture DEF: = concept over a certain number of values and concepts that prevail in a notion at a certain time. - related to the history of a certain system and also to the experience of the members of that society or system. - they want to see how attitudes and values influence the political participation VERBA: - culture = a controlled system in a certain society - what happens with a constitution can influence the entire state - political cultures is also related on behavior and on the process of political socialization - also concentrates on the way that individuals internalize certain values and learn about politics (ex: family, school, group of persons (friends), press) - an overall profile of how the masses react to the political actors - we also relate ourselves to various political cultures, accepting or rejecting some political authorities - variables such as social groups provide some randomness to the rather rigid scale of political sociology -> typologies of political cultures came also up with the concepts of civil competence -> the knowledge and perception on politics -> the mentalities and decisions in some countries were changed -> social behavior has an enormous aspect to be taken into account (by describing the ideal type of society) -> stable, efficient one -> active political culture Atomized society => as social interaction between the individuals within a society, as possible no cause-effect relation => reciprocity relation
The three dimensions of political culture by Verba 1. Cognitive dimension = set of knowledge more or less structured, strict regarding the political system 2. Emotional dimension = attachments or rejections towards the political issues = involves the social and political values and their acceptance or rejection 3. Evaluation dimension
1. Poroquial political culture - related to traditional pol. culture (ex: local community) 2. Obedient political culture - related to the way people obey the political authority of which they are aware - dependent on the higher hierarchy 3. Participative political culture - people aware of the means and the opportunities they have - conventional type of political participation
- by mixing the 3 we obtain the CIVIC CULTURE - if we mix the three equally we should have a stable democracy - tells us how people evaluate a political regime, the legislative => an ideal concept - plurality culture - combines tradition with modernity and consensus with diversity=> should allow social changes - a moderate change = positive - political culture = a sum of attitudes towards the moment in which the system is internalized by the population through various methods
More aspects of political socialization: - how children are introduced and learn about political issues - we are told what society expect from us 2 types of socialization -> direct one => social approach - very explicitly expressed => direct feelings are expressed -> indirect one => psychological approach => observation created a certain type of personalities.
2 main theories: - variables to be taken into account = timing and what happens in the adulthood life 1) Liberal theory = political socialization => transmitted from one generation to the other through the family ( timing), started early childhood, unplanned = political theories are formed really young and develop over the years = we build ourselves a political identity and learn how to evaluate, to participate etc 2) Radical view = dominant class that subordinates the weaker classes (Marxist view) => process=>deliberate (ex: press) = an equal sign between adulthood and childhood = we start as children but our actions as adults are also important - political culture => a gateway to political socialization ( you cannot understand one without the other) In political sociological terms, the environment has 3 dimensions: a) Political Dimension : specific events, actors, discussions b) Social Dimension c) Level of Economical Prosperity and Development
- The arrival of any new generation is equivalent with the arrival of barbarians. T. PARSONS