Political culture is the shared political philosophies and viewpoints of a nation or group of people, which can impact foreign relations and societal comparisons. It is influenced by shared concepts such as morals, economics, and governing power, and determines the structure of power and traditions adopted. Factors such as religion, individual vs. family orientation, equality, tradition, race, and gender influence political culture. Different degrees of political culture lead to different forms of society, such as anarchism, communism, oligarchy, conservative and fascist corporatism, and liberalism. Political culture creates political parties or philosophies, such as the Democratic and Republican Parties in the US, and Conservatives, Labor, and Liberal Democrats in the UK.
Political culture is the concept by which a nation or a group of people maintains similar political philosophies and viewpoints. This can have a direct impact on how a country acts towards other countries both in foreign relations and in the general comparison of societies. The country’s citizens generally approve or disapprove of their system of government and may push it to others. In the case of totalitarian control, it can lead to submission or rebellion. Within the nation itself, political culture can lead to party systems and is often directly related to an individual’s position in life.
Facets that impact political culture on a national level are usually created by shared concepts that society possesses. These paradigms are where society takes on issues such as morals, economics, and governing power. Because of the legal and social structure of society, the overall political culture determines how the structure of power is established and what traditions are adopted to determine that structure.
There are general principles that society needs to determine in order to find its political culture. The standards of the culture are generally determined by the religious views of the country and whether it focuses on the individual or is more family oriented. Another important component is the question of whether society practices full equality or is class-based with some members getting more rights than others. Various factors regarding tradition, race and gender are strongly influenced in this decision.
The various degrees to which the nation determines its political culture affect the form of society created. When society essentially operates without a central authority, this is called anarchism, while at the other extreme is the concept of communism, where every right and action of the individual is determined by the state. Other types include an oligarchy in which leadership is controlled by an elite group, conservative corporatism in which tradition and a hierarchy rule society, and fascist corporatism in which an authoritarian body dictates policy. Liberalism is divided into two spectrums, classical liberalism and radical liberalism. The former believes in limited government and individual liberty, while the latter believes there is a social purpose to government.
At the national level, political culture creates political parties or philosophies that help determine the way people act and the functions of government. For example, in the United States there are two main political parties: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Democrats have a more liberal view, while Republicans have a more conservative view. Another example is the UK, which is divided in power between Conservatives, Labor and Liberal Democrats. Each operates with a political culture on the right-to-left spectrum regarding the importance of government’s function in society.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
