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Chapter 7 Gov- Public Opinion

Terms in this set (56)

public opinion
how people think or feel about particular issues/things; not easy to measure; opinions of active and knowledgeable people carry more weight; rare for general public to have a dominant opinion on an issue; citizens are good at picking up cues despite being poorly informed; high levels of public ignorance
publics/factions
groups with distinct political interests advancing their ideas and interests at the expense of other citizens
Federalist No. 10
deals with the problem of factions; people are factious by nature; republican government is proposed cure to factions
Federalist No. 51
James Madison coalition- an alliance of factions; coalitions are more moderate in a large republic bc need to accommodate a diversity of interests and opinions
reasons why government policy is at odds with public opinion
framers created federal government to achieve specific goals (more perfect union, justice, domestic tranquility, ect.), framers believed that there was no such thing as public opinion because its not easy to know what the public thinks- listen to elite opinion instead
how republican government checks public opinion
representative government; federalism; separation of powers; bill of rights; independent judiciary
John Q. Public
...
middle america
...
silent majority
...
political socialization
the process by which personal and other background traits influence one's views about politics and government; begins at a very young age (5th grade); influenced by family, religious traditions, gender, schooling and information, social class, race/ethnicity
role of family in political socialization
party identification is absorbed from family, although child becomes more independent thinking with time but lately a declining ability to pass on party identification
generation gap
difference in political views between young and old; young voters exhibit less partisanship; more likely to be independents; clear political ideologies are rarely passed on; gay rights and favor giving tax money as vouchers for private and religious schools and legging people invest social security in stock market; think elected officials have different priorities than their own
red diaper babies
term used by commentators for college radicals of the 1960s who some believed were the sons and daughters of young radicals
role of religion in political socialization
often influences opinions on social issues but much less pronounced on non-social issues like war
role of gender gap in political socialization
difference in political views between men and women; issues on which men and women have biggest difference of opinion reflect attitude differences; women favor spending programs for poor, temperance, against war/guns, optimism, democrats, more voting than men; men like small government, liquor, war, guns, not as optimistic, more republican
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