Ciência política e socialização política nos Estados Unidos

Abstract

The article aims at evaluating, in summary fashion, the influence which psychological, anthropological, and sociological theories have had on studies of political socialization carried out by North American political scientists. In the author's opinion, psychologicallyoriented studies of the process of political socialization end up abstracting the individual dimension from the macro political context within which it occurs. The consequence is the "depoliticization" of the perception of the emminently political nature of that process. On the other hand, anthropological and sociological theories of culture and socialization do not appear to distinguish adequately between "spontaneous consensus" and "organized consent", and once again the result is a relative depoliticization of the perception of political socialization in contemporary systems. The author outlines the origins of the concept of political culture, indicates its limitations, and suggests that the concept of ideology, loosely inspired by the Marxist tradition, could be more useful in capturing the power conflict which accompanies the process of political socialization. The conclusion indicates that the kernel of studies of political socialization should be, on the one hand, the relation between the dominant ideology of a political system, and, on the other, the legitimation of its mode of domination.