Ideological Differences – A Lesson in A Political Science Class (2024)

This is a series of two class activities I use to introduce the concept of ideology and how our lived experiences determine our political awareness and policy preferences. I could see these activities as being helpful in many different classes which touch upon how culture shapes our behaviors, expectations and norms.

Activity 1: Introducing and Measuring Ideology

Political ideology refers to the set of ideas, beliefs, and values that individuals have about how government should work and the kinds of policies that government should implement. Each person has a set of personal political values that shape their political ideology. These values are developed based on the environments in which they have grown up and lived.

There are two major political ideologies in the United States: liberalism and conservativism, each associated with one of our two main political parties.

Liberalism, typically associated with the Democratic Party, points to the importance of government regulation of the economy to protect the rights of individuals and to control some of the drawbacks of free-market capitalism. Policies like minimum wage, environmental protection, and worker protections reflect liberal economic policies. Liberalism also points to an emphasis on policies that promote social equality and justice, opposing government interference in private lives (enabling individuals to engage in marriage with the partner of their choosing, seek out an abortion, etc.)

Conservativism, typically associated with the Republican Party, advocates for less government regulation of the economy and argues for a more laissez-faire, free-market capitalism approach to economic issues. Conservatism also tends to emphasize certain family and societal values with regards to social issues, promoting government interference in private lives in order to do so (placing restrictions on marriage rights, abortion, etc.)

As political scientists, it is our job to understand our own biases and how ideology plays into politics in order to have civil discussions that afford respect to all ideologies. After completing the Political Compass Test and seeing where you measure up (without sharing your party affiliation/compass results and being civil), answer the following prompt:

The Political Compass Test aims to measure your favoritism (on a spectrum) of liberal to conservative on a social and economic scale in a XY-coordinate grid system. Why might this approach be flawed? What could we do to better understand or measure someone’s ideology? How might lived experiences impact how you vote?

Sources: The Political Compass & Fiveable,

Activity 2: Political Identities and Ideology

First, the class brainstorms where American political subcultures come from (with the ultimate goal of understanding how we individually come to identify with our own “voting blocs”). Students typically respond with things like: your parents, friends, school, etc. Then, I ask how your parents, friends, etc. originally recieved those ideas. What external motivating factors influence how someone chooses to vote or the degree to which they are politically active?

To answer this, I introduce the concept of political cleavages (definition: a historically determined social or cultural line which divides citizens within a society into groups with differing political interests, resulting in political conflict among these groups). Then, our class thinks about where these lines come from in the United States. We discuss until we arrive at the following list:

• Race & Ethnicity
• Religion
• Gender
• Age
• Geography
• Socioeconomic Status

When one identity sub-group consistently shares the same values and political goals, we call this a “voting bloc”.  Given the cultural differences between groups stratified along these cleavages, this frames our political affiliation as a product of culture and identity. Finally, students are asked to interrogate how their identities inform their ideology and policy preferences through their voting bloc in a short written assignment.

Directions: In a paragraph (3-5 sentences, approx. 150-300 words), identify at least one of the following cleavages (“voting blocs”/ lines) that informs your ideology and policy preferences. These responses will not be shared with the class; this is an exercise in self-reflection and understanding why you tend to favor certain policies. Please be respectful in your responses as usual!

Race & Ethnicity
Religion
Gender
Age
Geography
Socioeconomic Status

Here is an example response:

As an educated woman, I view education as an equalizing force in society both from my own lived experience and because my parents were university professors. My parents encouraged this throughout my life in various ways. As an example, throughout middle and high school, my friends and I were heavily involved in debate organizations like Model UN, orchestra, AP classes, Mathletics, Quizbowl, National Honors Society, and peer tutoring largely because our parents (mostly college professors) wanted us to participate in organizations that served parts of the community traditionally that were traditionally left out of access to education and for us to go on to do post-secondary (Bachelors’) degrees, which these clubs also promoted through scholarships and club culture. These experiences shaped my ideology to be more accepting of others from diverse cultural backgrounds and favor policies that were designed to promote human development. Therefore, my ideology includes a pro-education outlook and I subsequently tend to favor policies that promote access to education and spending on schools, universities, research grants, and other educational needs. I tend to oppose policies that prioritize economic growth over human development, like the cutting teachers’ salaries in order to cut taxes.