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People can exert political influence even in casual interactions with others. They can influence each other’s behaviour (4.3.2) and moral values (4.3.3), which in turn affect the other’s political preferences. More directly, they can try to influence other people’s views on which policies and politicians to support. There is a difference between moral and political influence:
· People can support a political party for different moral reasons; for example, they might vote for a party because of its views on abortion or because of its economic policies.
· Conversely, people might prefer different policies even when trying to reach the same moral objective – as when a desire for peace might lead to approval for strengthening a military deterrent or to approval for working through international organisations.
Political persuasion, therefore, is different from moral persuasion – even though the behavioural dynamics might be similar.
Some political influence might be exerted within families, and family pressures can be very strong, but people should still make their own political choices:
· Married couples may make different choices – and there is no justification for one partner to claim power over the other.
· Children become increasingly capable of making their own choices (as formalised in democracies by the age at which they can vote).
People can also exert influence when they interact with others in the many groups they belong to, either formally or informally, because of shared interests, activities and cultural background. Political influence from other members of a group depends upon the strength of the relationship (4.3.2.2) and upon the nature of the shared interest:
· Religion might influence some people (4.3.3.3), politically as well as morally.
· People share economic concerns with their work colleagues.
· People are influenced by others whom they meet socially, particularly if some political views are fashionable in those circles.
In summary, politically interested individuals have lots of opportunity to persuade others to think the same way.
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