Explain the relationship between political socialization, political attitudes, and political participation

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Political socialization is the process by which people learn political attitudes, values, and behavior. For young children, the family is the primary agent of political socialization, and children tend to learn and hold many of the same opinions as their parents. People's socioeconomic status affects their political attitudes, values, and beliefs.

Individuals who are very poor or are unable to find employment tend to believe that society has failed them and therefore tend to be indifferent toward the political system. Believing that casting a ballot would make no difference to their own circumstances, they do not vote. Democracy in the United States has been defined as a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people." Accordingly, it would stand to reason that "the people" would actively participate in their government at any or all of four levels: (1) voting? (2) attending and taking part in political meetings? (3) actively participating in political campaigns; and (4) running for and/or holding political office. At most, about 10 percent of the voting-age population in this country participates at a level higher than simply voting, and over the past fifty years, less than half of the voting-age population has voted in nonpresidential elections. According to some analysts, people may not vote because they are satisfied with the status quo or because they are apathetic and uninformed – they lack an understanding of both public issues and the basic processes of government. By contrast, others argue that people stay away from the polls because they feel alienated from politics at all levels of government— federal, state, and local—due to political corruption and influence peddling by special interests and large corporations. Participation in politics is influenced by gender, age, race/ethnicity, and especially, socioeconomic status (SES). The rate of participation increases as a person's SES increases.