The governability problem in the American political system: A call for a new regional government form. - Page 78 |
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mandate in a given policy area that ineffectiveness will result in a decline in
legitimacy of government in the eyes of the citizens.
The significance of the loss of legitimacy is that when a large number of
citizens lose faith and trust in their government over a period of time, that loss
of trust can lead to an alienation, or "estrangement" by citizens from their
government. Most importantly, the loss of legitimacy can result in a rejection
of the political system as worthy of support, and a widespread defiance of
established laws, political norms, and traditions. This alienation and withdrawal
of support for the system can exist to such a degree that political stability is
threatened. Almond and Verba (1963) contend that the loss of legitimacy is
particularly dangerous when government is not performing adequately during
periods of crisis, such as during an economic depression. Lipset (1960) offers
an analysis of European democracies in the 1930s strongly suggesting that weak
democracies with low levels of public trust-such as Germany, Austria, and
Spain-were not able to withstand the strain of a depression, or a war, and
succumbed to social instability and ungovernability. More recently, Patrick
Caddell (1979) on the basis of his analysis of survey data, wrote that the growing
loss of confidence in the political system "threatens to destroy the fabric of
our society" (p. 8). This analysis provided the basis for President Jimmy Carter’s
famous "Crisis of Confidence" speech to the American people in 1979.
According to Caddell, the loss of confidence resulted from the political system’s
inability to cope with the instability and chaos resulting from the successive
64
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| Title | The governability problem in the American political system: A call for a new regional government form. - Page 78 |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | mandate in a given policy area that ineffectiveness will result in a decline in legitimacy of government in the eyes of the citizens. The significance of the loss of legitimacy is that when a large number of citizens lose faith and trust in their government over a period of time, that loss of trust can lead to an alienation, or "estrangement" by citizens from their government. Most importantly, the loss of legitimacy can result in a rejection of the political system as worthy of support, and a widespread defiance of established laws, political norms, and traditions. This alienation and withdrawal of support for the system can exist to such a degree that political stability is threatened. Almond and Verba (1963) contend that the loss of legitimacy is particularly dangerous when government is not performing adequately during periods of crisis, such as during an economic depression. Lipset (1960) offers an analysis of European democracies in the 1930s strongly suggesting that weak democracies with low levels of public trust-such as Germany, Austria, and Spain-were not able to withstand the strain of a depression, or a war, and succumbed to social instability and ungovernability. More recently, Patrick Caddell (1979) on the basis of his analysis of survey data, wrote that the growing loss of confidence in the political system "threatens to destroy the fabric of our society" (p. 8). This analysis provided the basis for President Jimmy Carter’s famous "Crisis of Confidence" speech to the American people in 1979. According to Caddell, the loss of confidence resulted from the political system’s inability to cope with the instability and chaos resulting from the successive 64 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. |
