What is Political Culture? (with pictures)

Political culture is the concept by which a nation or group of people maintain similar political philosophies and viewpoints. This can directly impact the way the a country acts towards other countries in both foreign relations and general comparison of societies. The citizens of the country generally approve or disapprove of their system of government and may push it on others. In the case of totalitarian control, it can either lead to submission or rebellion. Within the nation itself, political culture can lead to party systems and often is directly related to an individual's position in life.

Facets that impact political culture on a national level are generally created by shared concepts that the society possesses. These paradigms are the position in which the society takes on issues such as morals, economics and government power. Due to the legal and social structure of the society, the overall political culture determines how the structure of power is established and which traditions are adopted to determine that structure.

There are general principles that the society needs to determine in order to find its political culture. The culture's standards are generally determined by the country's religious views and whether it focuses on the individual or is more family-oriented. Another major component is the question of whether the society practices full equality or is class-based with certain members getting more rights than others. Various factors regarding tradition, race and sex are strongly influenced in this decision.

Varying degrees by which the nation determines its political culture impact what form of society is created. When the society essentially operates without a central authority, it is referred to as anarchism, while on the opposite end of the spectrum is the concept of communism, where every right and action of the individual is determined by the state. Other types include an oligarchy in which the leadership is controlled by an elite group, Tory corporatism in which tradition and a hierarchy mandate society, and fascist corporatism in which an authoritarian body mandates politics. Liberalism is separated into two spectrum, classical liberalism and radical liberalism. The former believes in limited government and individual liberty, while the latter believes there is a social purpose for government.

On a national level, political culture creates political parties or philosophies that help determine how people act and government functions. For example, in the United States, there are two main political parties: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The Democrats have a more liberal view, while the Republicans have a more conservative view. Another example is the United Kingdom, which is divided in power between the Conservatives, Labour Party and Liberal Democrats. Each operates with a political culture on the spectrum from right to left regarding the importance of government's function in society.