The Presidency and the New Political Culture

Abstract

A new political culture (NPC) is transforming the presidency. The NPC is redefining the rules by which politics is played and replacing class politics and clientelism/patronage. The NPC includes: (a) transforming the classic Left-Right, (b) explicitly distinguishing social and fiscal/economic issues, (c) increasing emphasis on social issues, (d) growing market individualism and social individualism, (e) questioning the welfare state, (f) increasing issue politics and citizen participation and declining hierarchical political organizations, and (g) growing participation among younger, educated, professional, and affluent individuals and societies. In addition, (a) William Clinton and other recent presidents illustrate the deeper dynamics, (b) the NPC is international (Blair and Schroeder illustrate), (c) key cultural changes by other leaders and citizens show that presidents match the emergence of the NPC, (d) political parties are key in ignoring or implementing citizen priorities, (e) globalization and the rise of entertainment (foreshadowed by Benjamin) demonstrate NPC preferences, and (f) brief cases and surveys of citizens and cities document key points.

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