Developing Your Political Ideology and Partisanship
Return to the first significant political question that every society must ask: What should be done? Political values address this question. How much liberty do you wish? How much equality? How much order? Some people consistently favor one value more than another, and others try to find a middle ground. For example, with issues regarding negative liberty, you may find yourself consistently favoring non-interference by the government, or you may be concerned with rising poverty and want more government interference across various social issues. Perhaps in some areas of policy, you want much more government interference; in others, you want people to be left alone. As you consider the variety of your political opinions, a certain consistency in your thinking will likely emerge. This is your political ideology.
To characterize your political ideology, ask yourself, “What role do you want the government to have in society?” Although there are many kinds of policies, we can identify your political ideology if we select two significant areas: social policy and economic policy. Examples of social issues include abortion and same-sex marriage. Examples of economic issues include taxation, the budget, and environmental regulation. The liberal believes in more government intervention in the economy, including more taxing and spending, but wants less government intervention in social affairs such as abortion. The conservative is the opposite, wanting less government intervention in the economy, with lower taxes and less government spending, but is willing to have the government intervene to regulate personal behavior such as abortion regulation. Libertarians want more freedom in all areas; socialists are the exact opposite, wanting consistent government control. In the middle are the moderates, who seek to balance liberal and conservative ideologies. Of course, you can be more moderate or extreme within each quadrant of Figure 1.3.1.
Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Political Ideologies (CC BY 4.0, Alexa Johnson)
Once you have determined your political ideology, it is a small step to identify the political party you would prefer. Today, just about all liberals join the Democratic Party, and just about all conservatives join the Republican Party. There is a small Libertarian Party, but there is no explicitly socialist party on our ballot. However, the Peace and Freedom Party and the Green Party have some socialist positions.
The evolution of parties in this state will be discussed in greater detail in subsequent chapters. Before the 1980s, party and ideology were less closely connected; there were many conservative Democrats and liberal Republicans. As the country has become more polarized, such people are less common.
If you register to vote, you may choose to define yourself as a member of a political party or select “no party preference.” California has a top-two primary system where all candidates are on everyone’s ballots, and the top two winners (regardless of party affiliation) go on from the primary (usually in March) to the general election (November). The one exception is with the U.S. presidential race, in which one or more parties may require you to be registered as a member to vote in their presidential primary (for example, the California Republican Party limits primary voters to registered Republicans). Thus, because you likely care about the U.S. presidential race, it still makes sense to register for a party.
Now that you have a better idea of who you are politically, compare yourself to other Californians. According to a May 2022 poll (Baldassare), about 35% of Californians call themselves liberal, 29% moderate, and 33% conservative. Approximately 48% of likely voters registered as Democrats, 24% as Republicans, 21% as independents, and 7% with a minor party, including the American Independent Party, the Green Party, the Libertarian Party, and the Peace and Freedom Party. More about these parties in a later chapter!
