In his 1966 book, American Federalism: A View From the States, political scientist Daniel Elazar devotes a key chapter to his theory of “political subcultures in American states.” According to Elazar, the three dominant political subcultures in America are the moralistic, traditionalistic, and Individualistic. These political subcultures are all alive and well today, and where they can be found is explained by patterns of immigration: Who landed where on the eastern seaboard and where did they settle as they migrated across the country to the west coast? More important for us, Elazar’s theory also helps answer the question, “why do people go into government?” 

The moralistic subculture has roots in the Puritan communities of New England and the Scandinavian and German settlers of the Upper Midwest, and it views government as an egalitarian institutiton charged with pursuing the common good and promoting a just and moral society. In the moralistic subculture, you go into government to beGer your community, but this can lead to idealism and performa0ve gestures. For example, when the 2024 Minneapolis City Council convened their first mee0ng of their new session – usually a business mee0ng used to establish rules, calendars, and commiGee assignments – they spent almost the en0re 0me deba0ng the preferred language for a resolu0on related to the war in Gaza rather than discussing pressing issues in the city. 

Originating from the hierarchical and aristocratic societies of England, Spain, and France, the traditionalistic subculture is predominant in the South and Southwest and it views politics as the domain of an elite class, whose job it is to preserve existing social orders and traditions. In the traditionalistic culture, you go into government to protect the privileges and way of life that you and your class already enjoy. The largely old, white, male, republican members of the Tennessee house of representatives did exactly that when they expelled two of their young, urban, democra0c, African American colleagues. The crime? They led a protest in the chamber demanding ac0on on gun reform following a mass shoo0ng at a private school in Nashville where three children and three adults were killed. 

The Individualistic culture was shaped by the entrepreneurial and commercial values of the Dutch and other early settlers of the Mid-Atlantic states from England, Italy, Ireland, Poland, and Germany. Prevalent in the Midwest and parts of the West, this subculture takes a utilitarian and transactional perspective, viewing government as a minimalist institution required to keep the business of the private marketplace functioning. In the individualis0c subculture, you go into government to make money for

yourself, your family, and your friends. Not surprisingly, gra] and corrup0on are more common in this political subculture, as demonstrated in 2024 when over 70 current and former staff of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) were arrested and charged with bribery and extortion for taking $2M in bribes – the largest number of bribery charges ever handed out by the Justice Department in a single day.