E-book 3 - Hooghe Comment

Are there really two public opinions in Belgium? Marc Hooghe (KULeuven) One of the recurrent claims in the rhetoric about Belgian linguistic divisions is that public opinion in the two communities would be radically different. The fact that Dutch and French speaking communities would adhere to different value patterns would render it all the more difficult to reach a political compromise on various topics, ranging from how to reduce the government deficit to how to fight corruption. If we want to develop coherent policies, the logic goes, we should develop two separate political systems: institutions should adapt to cultural realities in society. At first sight, the argument makes sense. First of all, we know from empirical research how important public attitudes are for politics. We can assume that the political culture of a country to a large extent determines the way a political system operates. E.g., various international experiences have shown that it is very difficult for a government to fight corruption if there is a feeling among the population that corruption is not all that bad as a survival mechanism. Already from the 1950s on it has been shown that the political culture of a country has a strong impact on the stability of democratic political systems. Public opinion matters, to put it simply. Furthermore, we also know that cultures tend to change slowly, and that there are profound differences between various cultures. The ...