> Actually, these "scientists" are lumping together many more things than > you described, Dr. Caplan. You're too easy on them. Culture includes > - Z Gochenour
Well, yes and no. Culture is terribly vague, but good researchers will narrow it down. Bryan seems to clearly focus on attitudes towards government, which is reasonable since he's interested in policy outcomes. In general, good social scientists who deal with "culture" tend to have reasonable working definitions that help them with their research. Some cultural research is purely attitudinal. For example, demographers might want to know when individuals have a preference for small number of children, and if such a stated preference has any effect on fertility. The issue is that "culture" as it is often used denotes the "stuff inside your head" that people in a group share. This might include: language, attitudes, religions, belief systems, emotions, facts, skills and all the cognitive machinery that underlies all conscious thinking. Therefore, it is simply to big and vague an idea. Best to do what Bryan does and focus on what interests you (in his case, attitudes towards gov't vs. attitudes towards individuals or yourself). Fabio
