Sense and Non-Sense American Culture and Politics

Preface A fundamental task of political science is to shed light on how political systems in various societies work. In pursuit of this goal, one important guiding question is, "How does one account for the distributive decisions that are generated by a political system?" There are a number of ways those interested in the political system of the United States seek to answer this question. One explanatory mode that I believe is underutilized is the assessment of political culture. The intent of this book is therefore to introduce students to the ways that American culture structures the outcomes of political life. To place the argument of this book in context, it is useful first to identify other ways in which political scientists account for policy outcomes. The kinds of explanation typically used by those seeking to describe American politics may be framed by considering one of the most important domestic policy initiatives in recent years: The Clinton Administration's attempt to establish a comprehensive health care system for the United States. National health care is an interesting political issue, in part because of the wealth of this country, in part because of the significance most of us give to the importance of health to a good life, and in part because the United States stands alone among the industrialized nations of the world in its reluctance to implement a national health care plan. Perhaps the most common way to answer distributive questions of this sort is to treat each idiosyncratically, without reference to any connections or underlying commonalities among policies. This "case study" approach is useful. Each policy pattern is, after all, complex and to some degree distinctive. Case studies are edifying because they highlight these distinctions. A case study of the attempt by the Clinton Administration's health care initiative might suggest, for example, that it failed for idiosyncratic reasons--because of underlying resentment of Mrs. Clinton's leadership role, inappropriate for a "first lady," or because policy guru Ira Magaziner was politically inept. Or, perhaps Clinton's plan failed simply because it was too complex for average Americans to understand. Each of these possibilities is plausible. As explanations, they are relevant only to health care policy. Mrs. Clinton was far less involved in other policies; other Clinton proposals might have been more straightforward, and so forth. A second way to understand policy patterns is to look for things that bind them, to consider whether they are part of a larger pattern that reveals important properties of the political system. This approach is also useful. It may miss nuance, but it directs attention to the whole, to theoretical issues. One such explanation locates policy within the matrix of distinctive political institutions. Institutional analysis, for example, might suggest that we do not have national health care because of the uncertainties of this nation's Founders who, living at the dawn of a democratic age, were also fearful of what this age might portend. Health care was doomed by those timid souls who fragmented the political systempreciselyto make political accomplishment difficult. Because the U.S. political system disburses power across an array of institutions, policy accomplishment is problematic. In this case, the Congress, always responsive to a different array of interests than the Presidency, could not be rallied to support Clinton's plan. In this sense, health care failure might well be viewed as simply business as usual. A differing explanation of this general type ties political outcomes to more fundamental economic forces. Scratch the surface of a given political pattern and one will find the forces of raw economic power at work. Political outcomes are controlled by economic elites. In this understanding, national health care was whipsawed between the Scylla of a media campaign fuWray, J. Harry is the author of 'Sense and Non-Sense American Culture and Politics', published 2000 under ISBN 9780130833433 and ISBN 0130833436.