POSC 225 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Media Consumption, Classical Liberalism, Alexis De Tocqueville

• School: JMU
• Department: Political Science
• Course: POSC 225
• Professor: Kwanda Trice

Document Summary

Political thinking and political culture: becoming a responsible citizen: Involves the careful gathering and sifting of information to form a knowledgeable view about a political issue. Main barrier: unwillingness of citizens to make the effort to self-inform (willful ignorance) Changes in media consumption: more people consume biased cable television and. (cid:862) pi(cid:374)(cid:863) (cid:271)y politi(cid:272)al leade(cid:396)s a(cid:374)d go(cid:448)e(cid:396)(cid:374)(cid:373)e(cid:374)t e(cid:374)tities. Research shows faulty perceptions becoming more prevalent. Political science: the systematic study of government and politics. A descriptive and analytical discipline; can increase ability to think politically. What political science can contribute to political thinking: Political science can contribute to political thinking. Ho(cid:449)s that a(cid:373)e(cid:396)i(cid:272)a"s (cid:272)ultu(cid:396)e of i(cid:374)di(cid:448)idualis(cid:373) (cid:449)as i(cid:373)po(cid:396)ta(cid:374)t o(cid:271)sta(cid:272)le to (cid:449)hole-scale healthcare reform. Individualistic culture has roots in colonial wilderness society. Defines the relationship between the citizens and government. A(cid:373)e(cid:396)i(cid:272)a"s (cid:272)o(cid:396)e ideals a(cid:396)e (cid:396)ooted i(cid:374) the eu(cid:396)opea(cid:374) he(cid:396)itage of the fi(cid:396)st white settlers. Ideology has changed: we are a country of immigrants.