Week 4: POLITICS, CULTURE, AND SOCIAL PROCESSES

“Culture plays many roles in the social processes associated with the distribution of power in society. As you can see from this chapter, political sociologists have examined the role of culture in politics in different ways. These various paths of research take us in different directions. What is exciting is that more research is being done to further refine our understanding of what role culture plays in political processes. For example, the field of political socialization has been relatively dormant for thirty years. Only recently have social scientists begun to revisit early findings in light of advances in research related to developmental psychology, political cognition and value formation, and generational studies of political attitudes. Revisiting political socialization processes seems likely in the work ahead.
Some of the work on how people develop political values and attitudes has been advanced by innovations in research. The study of world values and contrasts in how people view power and politics has gained much from comparing citizens from different countries around the world. By comparing belief systems, ideologies, the role of subcultures, or the impact of media on systems of political values, cross-cultural studies will develop much-needed insight into the significance of culture to politics in societies throughout the world. Here too advances in the study of the many forms of mass media further highlight the nature of culture and politics in the modern world. As we conclude that TV has “mixed effects” on values, attitudes, and beliefs but that these effects vary by a social group, the door opens to future research. 

“Only recently have political sociologists begun to track what impact the Internet and emerging forms of mass media and mass communication have on politics. These are fascinating times indeed for political sociologists.
The significance of political ideology to the study of politics and culture has not died out in spite of continued struggles over how to define ideology. We know that broad-based political orientations in society play a role in patterns related to political systems, as well as in choices of political groupings and affiliations. This research has reminded us that social context matters. We also know that political culture and place have an apparent connection. Social groups, including peer groups, workplace groups, communities, and larger geographical units such as towns and counties, follow Durkheim’s principle of homophily—birds of the same social feather do tend to flock together.
In the chapters ahead we continue to explore the significance of culture to politics. The discussions ahead move us to consider the politics of everyday life and political participation, including voting, policy outcomes, politics and corporations, and globalization. As we will see, aspects of culture play a role in all of these key concepts.