The proportion of Americans believing the United States is spending too little on national defense has varied considerably over the past four decades. In recent years; this proportion has increased from 12% in 1973 to 30% in 1978. Using data from the NORC General Social Surveys for 1973 through 1978, this article studies the correlates of opinions about defense spending and seeks to account for the trend toward increased support for greater arms spending.
The results of this analysis suggest that factors important in explaining variations in opinions about arms spending vary with different historical periods. Three interconnected changes over the six years under study are suggested by the data to produce the aforementioned trend: the decline of the impact of the Vietnam war, a rise in particular elements of conservative ideology, and an increase in anti-Soviet and anticommunist sentiment.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ANDREWS, F.M. J. N. MORGAN, J. A. SONQUIST, and L. KLEM (1973) Multiple Classification Analysis. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research.
2.
BRADY, D. and L. RAPPOPORT (1973) “Violence and Vietnam: a comparison between attitudes of civilians and veterans.”Human Relations26: 735–752.
3.
CHRISTIANSEN, B. (1959) Attitudes Towards Foreign Affairs as a Function of Personality. Oslo, Norway: Universitetsforlaget.
4.
CUTLER, N. E. (1970) “Generational succession as a source of foreign policy attitudes: a cohort analysis of American opinion, 1946–1966.”J. of Peace Research7: 33–47.
5.
CUTLER, N. E. and V. L. BENGTSON (1974) “Age and political alienation: maturation, generation and period effects.”Annals of Amer. Academy of Pol. and Social Sci.415 (September): 160–175.
6.
DREIER, P. and A. SZYMANSKI(forthcoming) “The aristocracy of labor: an empirical test, ” In L. Kriesberg (ed.) Research in Social Movements, Conflict and Change. Vol. 3. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
7.
FREE L.A. and H. CANTRIL (1967) The Political Beliefs of Americans. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Univ. Press.
8.
GAMSON, W. A. and A. MODIGLIANI (1966) “Knowledge and foreign policy opinions: some models for consideration.”Public Opinion Q.30: 187–199.
9.
HAMILTON, R. (1968) “A research note on the mass support for tough military initiatives.”Amer. Soc. Rev.33: 439–445.
10.
HERO, A. O., Jr. (1969) “Liberalism-conservatism revisited: foreign vs. domestic policies, 1937–1967.”Public Opinion Q.33: 399–409.
11.
HOFSTETTER, C. R. and D. W. MOORE (1979) “Watching TV news and supporting the military.”Armed Forces and Society5 (2): 261–269.
12.
JEFFRIES, V. (1974) “Political generations and the acceptance or rejection of nuclear warfare.”J. of Social Issues30: 119–136.
13.
KIRKPATRICK, S. A. and J. L. REGENS (1978) “Military experience and foreign policy belief systems.”J. of Pol. and Military Sociology6: 29–47.
14.
KLINGBERG, F. (1952) “The historical alternation of moods in American foreign policy.”World Politics4 (January): 239–273.
15.
KRIESBERG, L. (1973) The Sociology of Social Conflicts. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
16.
LADD, E., Jr. (1978) “The new lines are drawn: class and ideology in America.” Public Opinions (July/August): 48–53.
17.
LASSWELL, H. D. (1930) Psychopathology and Politics. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
18.
LAULICHT, J. and J. PAUL (1963) “Issues of peace and war: Canadian attitudes of disarmament and defense policy.”Social Problems11: 48–62.
19.
LIPSET, S. M. and E. C. LADD (1971) “College generations from the 1930's to the 1960's.”Public Interest25: 99–113.
20.
MANNHEIM, K. (1952) “The sociological problem of generations, ” pp. 276–322 in P. Kecskemeti (ed.) Essays on the Sociology of Knowledge. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
21.
MARTIN. W. C., V. L. BENGTSON, and A. C. ACOCK (1974) “Alienation and age: a context-specific approach.”Social Forces53 (December): 266–274.
22.
PHILLIPS. N. E. (1973) “Militarism and grass-roots involvement in the military-industrial complex.”J. of Conflict Resolution17 (December): 625–655.
23.
PUTNEY, S. and R. MIDDLETON (1962) “Some factors associated with student acceptance or rejection of war.”Amer. Soc. Rev.27: 655–666.
24.
REILLY, J. E. (1979) “The American mood: a foreign policy of self-interest.”Foreign Policy34 (Spring): 74–86.
25.
ROSI, E. J. (1965) “Mass and attentive opinion on nuclear weapons tests and fallout, 1954–1963.”Public Opinion Q.29: 280–297.
26.
ROSKIN, M. (1974) “From Pearl Harborto Vietnam: shifting generational paradigms.”Pol. Sci. Q.89 (Fall): 563–588.
27.
RUSSETT, B. M. (1975) “The Americans' retreat from world power.”Pol. Sci. Q.90 (Spring): 1–21.
28.
RUSSETT, B. M. (1974) “The revolt of the masses: public opinion on military expenditures, ” pp. 57–88 in J. P. Lovell and P. S. Kronenberg (eds.) New Civil-Military Relations. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
29.
RUSSETT, B. M. and M. NINCIC (1976) “American opinion on the use of military force abroad.”Pol. Sci. Q.91 (Fall): 411–431.
30.
SCOTT, W. A. (1960) “International ideology and interpersonal ideology.”Public Opinion Q.24: 419–435.
31.
WEINER, T. S. and B. K. ECKLAND (1979) “Education and political party: the effects of college or social class.”Amer. J. of Sociology84 (January): 911–928.
32.
WESTMORELAND, W. C. (1978) “Ominous trends demand positive action.” Presented at the second session of the Great American Achievement Program, Wilmington, Delaware, October 31.
