Question

Choose the three general types of political culture as identified by Almond and Verba:
A. participant political culture
B. natural political culture
C. subject political culture
D. parochial political culture
E. green political culture
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

• A. A, B, E only
• B. A, C, D only
• C. B, C, D only
• D. A, D, E only

Hint:

To remember the types, think of a Ladder of Participation:
1. Parochial: No awareness.
2. Subject: Aware but passive.
3. Participant: Aware and active.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Concept: Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba, in their classic study *The Civic Culture* (1963), identified three pure types of political culture based on how citizens perceive and interact with their political system.

Step 1: Defining the Three Types.

• Parochial Political Culture (D): Citizens have low awareness of the political system and no expectation of change from it. This is typically found in traditional or tribal societies where there is no specialized political role.
• Subject Political Culture (C): Citizens are aware of the political system and its outputs (laws, taxes) but play a passive role. They see themselves as subjects of the state rather than active participants.
• Participant Political Culture (A): Citizens are highly aware of the system and believe they can influence it. They take an active role in both the "inputs" (voting, protesting) and "outputs" of politics.

Step 2: Eliminating Incorrect Options.
"Natural political culture" (B) and "Green political culture" (E) are not part of Almond and Verba's original framework. While "Green" politics is a modern ideological movement, it is not one of the three foundational categories of political culture identified in their 1963 study.

Step 3: The "Civic Culture".
Almond and Verba argued that the most stable democracies possess a "Civic Culture," which is a healthy mix of these three types, where the participant culture is tempered by subject and parochial loyalties.