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Essay / The role of political culture in the United States
Political culture is very important because it gives the power to express themselves to ordinary citizens. Daniel Elazar realized that the United States could be classified into three different political cultures. These categories are moralist, traditionalist and individualist. These cultures were originally formed by the immigrants who settled in different regions of the states. Which brought a lot of different cultures, morals and values to the political perspective. These classifications play a different role in making the voices of government and citizens heard. Daniel Elazar has classified the political culture of Texas as individualist and traditionalist. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Individualistic culture views government as a tool for using the system to improve one's own needs rather than those of communities. Citizens with an individualistic culture engage in politics to promote their own interests. “Everyone manages” would first be the phrase they use. Furthermore, Elazar's point of view shows that people in this culture do not care about the common good and can be called dirty deals. The moralistic political culture believes that by involving the community it will show the result of a better governed environment. The role of governments, in this case, is to ensure the common good. While the role of the citizen is to engage in civic affairs. Finally, traditionalist cultures are designed to reserve special advantages for the elite and the wealthy. In simpler terms, it can be considered a country club. Only the rich can enter and it is the rich who compete for power. The role of government in this regard is to maintain this status quo. People outside of this community have a say in what should be strengthened. In short, Elazar recognized these political cultures and characterized them by certain traits that they represent. Clearly, these political cultures are all different from each other in many ways. Besides certain traits that they possess, there is a dominant outlook in each of them. This includes the views of governments and citizens. When we talk about individualistic political culture, it is easy to see that the dominant vision of governments is limited. Indeed, they must maintain the functioning of the market. For citizens, they don't get much out of this culture. Mainly because the main role is to win this title. It helps oneself rather than the groups. On the other hand, moralistic political culture presents a balance with respect to the prevailing views of government and citizens. Since this culture is focused on citizen engagement in civic affairs, it increases the chances that the community will improve each other rather than focusing on itself. The government values the role played by citizens as it enhances the benefits of being part of this culture. More or less, this community is more likely to thrive when it comes to being morally righteous. Divergently, citizens of a traditionalist political culture cannot always say that they have a fair share of the title. Overall, there is a dominant view in every culture regarding government and citizens. According to Elezar, Texas has a traditionalist and individualist political culture. When it comes to individualistic culture, Texas is known to be part of it since its history on the Western frontier. Autonomy, individualism and its characteristics make.