I don't recall this material in much detail, but (as you well know) that was a long time ago and memory fades. And if the studies occurred in the 50s and 60s and were still considered to be reputable, I'm sure this must have been covered. I recall reading that the majority of people have adopted whatever political orientation they're going to have for the rest of their lives by the age of 12 or 13, mostly on the basis of whatever their parents tell them. (Kind of scary, isn't it?) Ergo, it's not surprising that only a small percentage of them would have what we could call a coherent belief system. Independent critical thinking and understanding of complex issues comes to most people only well after that age.
There is, of course, a significant minority who rebel against their parents beliefs, usually in their teens, though this is often not a permanent rebellion. Nor is it necessarily a sign that this minority has engaged in the critical thinking necessary to form and understand a coherent set of political beliefs. A few in this minority do, but the rest are trend-followers.
I recall reading that major economic events, wars, social changes etc., can cause many people to change their positions on a range of issues, leading to an apparent realignment of the electorate, but far fewer will actually change (or belatedly adopt) a radically different political philosophy.
Politics is hard to follow and can be frustrating. Few of us may even want to really understand it well enough to follow a coherent philosophy, because unless you're a powerful player, or a power-hungry player, understanding politics is largely an exercise in knowning how powerless you are in the grand scheme of things. And now, with fully modernized political PR machines, massive campaign war chests, and a ratings-hungry sound-bite 24 hour media, we can know a lot more about what's going on in politics, but at the same time a lot less.
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timeasmymeasure
I took a class on Political Socialization during senior year of college
Date: 2004-09-16 02:01 pm (UTC)There is, of course, a significant minority who rebel against their parents beliefs, usually in their teens, though this is often not a permanent rebellion. Nor is it necessarily a sign that this minority has engaged in the critical thinking necessary to form and understand a coherent set of political beliefs. A few in this minority do, but the rest are trend-followers.
I recall reading that major economic events, wars, social changes etc., can cause many people to change their positions on a range of issues, leading to an apparent realignment of the electorate, but far fewer will actually change (or belatedly adopt) a radically different political philosophy.
Politics is hard to follow and can be frustrating. Few of us may even want to really understand it well enough to follow a coherent philosophy, because unless you're a powerful player, or a power-hungry player, understanding politics is largely an exercise in knowning how powerless you are in the grand scheme of things. And now, with fully modernized political PR machines, massive campaign war chests, and a ratings-hungry sound-bite 24 hour media, we can know a lot more about what's going on in politics, but at the same time a lot less.
-rich