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Political Science 55
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Origins and Teaching Objectives
This
project is the latest phase of a unit I have used in my Political
Science 55 class (State, National and Local Government) since the
mid-1970’s. Influenced by the ideas of Antonio Gramsci, Louis
Hartz, Kenneth Dolbeare and Patricia Dolbeare, James Weinstein,
and Edward S. Greenberg I thought that it was important to discuss
the sociology of political ideas in that class. My objective is
to have students understand and decode the political ideas and language
of contemporary U.S. politics. Gramsci stresses the role of ideology
for the dominant class to maintain hegemony (influence and control)
over members of the working classes in society, as well and the
importance of oppositional parties and movements developing a counter
hegemonic ideology. Louis Hartz argues that the United States was
born Liberal in the eighteenth century and that Liberal ideology
(competitive individualism, private property, limited government,
free-market capitalism, and progress) permeates every facet of “American”
political culture. The Dolbeare’s outline the ideology of
dominant interests in the society as well as those interests positioned
to the right and left of the political center. Weinstein explains
how “Classical Liberalism,” was remade into “Corporate
Liberalism” during the twentieth century to rationalize the
interventionist state and the New Deal. Greenberg further explains
that since 1933 the political center has had both Modern Liberal
(Democratic Party) and Modern Conservative (Republican Party) components. |
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