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Political socialization and political culture: a case study Oliver, Thelma Isabel
Abstract
Stable democratic systems are characterised by the persistence and distinctiveness of political subcultures which offer alternatives to the status quo. This case study describes the New Democratic sub-culture in terms of its persistence and distinctiveness. The data was drawn from a survey of New Democratic activists in the Vancouver area. The concept of political socialization was used to examine the persistence of the New Democratic subculture. Primary and secondary agents of socialization provide continuity of sub-cultural values overtime; primary agents such as family and peer groups socialize New Democrats to sub-cultural values, while secondary agents provide socialization both to the general political culture, which is primarily liberal democratic, and to values which are consonant with the organic-socialist New Democratic sub-culture. New Democrats are strongly committed to their sub-culture, but seem to be attracted to the liberal culture in some degree. The liberal value of equality of opportunity seems to be particularly attractive to New Democrats. But the New Democratic sub-culture is distinctive in the very strong value placed upon the ordinary working person's welfare. When New Democrats contrast themselves with other sub-cultures, they see themselves as the party of the working class, the underdog, while other parties are for doctors, bankers, and the status quo. The study of political culture, especially of political sub-cultures which together make up the general political culture of a system, requires more study of two problems which must be examined together. First, it is necessary to establish a taxonomy of the values which constitute a sub-culture. Second, the process of socialization to those values must be studied in a manner that will enable the researcher to make use of that taxonomy of cultural values. An ideal research strategy would combine ideographic testing with small group methods. Political activists provide an excellent laboratory for this kind of study. Once we know more about the content of political culture and the way in which it is modified in the process of socialization, we will be able to study the interaction of political sub-cultures in a much more systematic way.
Item Metadata
Title |
Political socialization and political culture: a case study
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
1967
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Description |
Stable democratic systems are characterised by
the persistence and distinctiveness of political subcultures which offer alternatives to the status quo.
This case study describes the New Democratic sub-culture
in terms of its persistence and distinctiveness. The
data was drawn from a survey of New Democratic activists
in the Vancouver area.
The concept of political socialization was used
to examine the persistence of the New Democratic subculture. Primary and secondary agents of socialization
provide continuity of sub-cultural values overtime;
primary agents such as family and peer groups socialize
New Democrats to sub-cultural values, while secondary
agents provide socialization both to the general political
culture, which is primarily liberal democratic, and to
values which are consonant with the organic-socialist
New Democratic sub-culture.
New Democrats are strongly committed to their
sub-culture, but seem to be attracted to the liberal
culture in some degree. The liberal value of equality
of opportunity seems to be particularly attractive to New Democrats. But the New Democratic sub-culture is
distinctive in the very strong value placed upon the
ordinary working person's welfare. When New Democrats
contrast themselves with other sub-cultures, they see
themselves as the party of the working class, the underdog,
while other parties are for doctors, bankers, and
the status quo.
The study of political culture, especially of
political sub-cultures which together make up the general
political culture of a system, requires more study of
two problems which must be examined together. First, it
is necessary to establish a taxonomy of the values which
constitute a sub-culture. Second, the process of
socialization to those values must be studied in a manner
that will enable the researcher to make use of that
taxonomy of cultural values. An ideal research strategy
would combine ideographic testing with small group
methods. Political activists provide an excellent
laboratory for this kind of study.
Once we know more about the content of political
culture and the way in which it is modified in the process
of socialization, we will be able to study the interaction
of political sub-cultures in a much more systematic way.
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Genre | |
Type | |
Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2012-03-22
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0106997
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.