Public opinion in the United States contains a paradox. The American public is symbolically conservative: it cherishes the symbols of conservatism and is more likely to identify as conservative than as liberal. Yet at the same time, it is operationally liberal, wanting government to do and spend more to solve a variety of social problems. This book focuses on understanding this contradiction. It argues that both facets of public opinion are real and lasting, not artifacts of the survey context or isolated to particular points in time. By exploring the ideological attitudes of the American public as a whole, and the seemingly conflicted choices of individual citizens, it explains the foundations of this paradox. The keys to understanding this large-scale contradiction, and to thinking about its consequences, are found in Americans' attitudes with respect to religion and culture and in the frames in which elite actors describe policy issues.
• Explains why the public thinks of itself as conservative, while supporting primarily liberal policy positions • Explains a long noted, but rarely explored, contradiction in public attitudes • Speaks to popular debates over whether the United States is predominantly a nation of the left or a nation of the right
Contents
1. The meaning of ideology in America; 2. Operational ideology: data; 3. Operational ideology: the estimates; 4. Ideological self-identification; 5. The operational-symbolic disconnect; 6. Conservatism as social identity; 7. Conflicted conservatism; 8. Ideology and outcomes.
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