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Mgt3
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Does anyone believe that it is possible to make political choices without having a political ideology?
We could start by counting the number of people that don't have a political ideology. It shouldn't take long.Mgt3 said:Does anyone believe that it is possible to make political choices without having a political ideology?
TheStatutoryApe said:If you are making political choices then you must have a political ideology. The sum of the rationale behind those choices would be your political ideology. I would say that you could only make said choices without ideology if they are made completely on whim with no logic or reasoning in which case you probably oughtn't be making them.
Mgt3 said:Well, the authours of The American Voter Revisited distinguishes political ideologies from attitude structures as:
"a set of beliefs and evaluations that are crystallized, interlocked, and broad in scope. An ideological attitude structure probably would be grounded in broad assumptions about the nature of society and appropriate social objectives." (Lewis-Beck, Jacobs, Norpoth, and Weisberg 2008:207)
On the same page (207), they also write that all attitude structures "have the possibility of guiding electoral choices." I don't understand their line of reasoning. How could attitudes guide electoral choices without being politically ideological?
Sorry! said:It's because it's the American voter... they are a special breed.
Mgt3 said:Well, the authours of The American Voter Revisited distinguishes political ideologies from attitude structures as:
"a set of beliefs and evaluations that are crystallized, interlocked, and broad in scope. An ideological attitude structure probably would be grounded in broad assumptions about the nature of society and appropriate social objectives." (Lewis-Beck, Jacobs, Norpoth, and Weisberg 2008:207)
On the same page (207), they also write that all attitude structures "have the possibility of guiding electoral choices." I don't understand their line of reasoning. How could attitudes guide electoral choices without being politically ideological?
kyleb said:Attitudes freely shift though observation and circumstance, while ideologies are clung to regardless of either. Avoiding the latter requires immolation of one's ego.
Hepth said:What about the instances (few and far between in todays politics) of the stance of :
"I disapprove of what you do, but I will defend to the death your right to do it" (a bastardization of something by EB Hall on Voltaire)
This is how I feel about quite a few political issues concerning peoples rights, but it seems like the majority of both public and politicians take the stance of "I disapprove of what you do, so let me go ahead and make that illegal..."
BobG said:Yes, it's possible to make political decisions with no political ideology. An ideology just establishes a long term guiding principle that should outlive any of the short term issues and crises that tend to crop up.
Letting ideology affect political decisions is simply framing responses to an immediate problem against how the problem and its responses fit into the bigger, long term picture. One could choose to simply find the best solution to the immediate problem at hand under the assumption that a string of good decisions should yield pretty good long term results.
Yes, it is possible. While having a political ideology can certainly influence our political choices, it is not the only factor that determines our decisions. Many people make political choices based on their personal values, experiences, and research rather than a specific ideology.
People without a political ideology can still make informed political choices by researching and educating themselves on different political issues and policies. They can also consider their own values and beliefs to guide their decisions.
One advantage of not having a political ideology is that it allows for more flexibility in making political choices. Without a strict ideology to adhere to, individuals may be more open to considering different perspectives and finding common ground with others.
Yes, it is possible for someone's political choices to change over time, regardless of whether or not they have a political ideology. As we grow and experience different things, our beliefs and values may evolve, leading to changes in our political choices.
It is not uncommon for scientists to have a more evidence-based and data-driven approach to making political choices, rather than being guided by a specific ideology. However, this may vary among individuals and fields of study within the scientific community.