A person’s political philosophy is said to be his or her views about such topics as liberty, law, property, justice, and the like. Many have strong political philosophies in life and are quite vocal about it while some choose to keep mum and quiet. This doesn’t mean however that the quiet ones do not have their political philosophies.
A political philosophy may be shaped by a lot of factors including family upbringing, political exposure, gender, religious beliefs, demographics, and race or ethnicity. It is not produced by a single event although a particularly striking event can contribute to its formation. The simultaneous workings of all these factors will determine the differences in political philosophy even among family members, friends, work associates, spouses, and casual acquaintances.
Family Upbringing
Very few can literally go against values and principles that have been instituted since childhood. Family members are the very first people which a child will interact with. Even while growing and being exposed to other ideas, family values are usually assimilated and rarely put aside.Thus, it is common to see family members supporting each other politically in spite of personal differences. This is more so in politically-active families.
Political Exposure
This doesn’t need much explanation. The more a person is exposed to a political ideology, the more probability there is that the ideology will be accepted especially if there are no efforts to avoid it. A good example of this is politics in the US where people can sometimes be loosely classified as either Republican or Democrat.
Gender
In this time and age where there is supposed to be gender equality, political philosophy can still be swayed by gender issues. Aside from the emergence of strong female political leaders, women voters have generally become stronger in terms of number and voice. It is not uncommon for women voters to support politicians who are in turn supportive of women issues.
Religious Beliefs
In spite of the supposed separation of church and state, religious beliefs or religion certainly affects a person’s view on politics. There are certain political observations related to historical religious events and alliances. The stand of a specific religion on specific issues have been known to determine outcomes of some political exercise.
Demographics, Race and Ethnicity
A person’s political view can be affected to a certain degree by his race and ethnicity as dictated by the prevailing culture. The place of birth and place of residence and the prevailing influence in its environs will manifest some effect as well.
Teresa is a researcher-writer who covers a wide range of topics in search of useful information.
Image: thescoopng.com