British v American understanding of respective Constitutions.?

Question

I invariably criticise Americans for their politics, but one thing that I have noticed is that answers relating to matters such as the make up of government, electoral procedures and how the machinery of government operates in America are promptly and knowledgeably answered by American posters whereas answers on similar topics relating to the UK frequently display astonishing levels of ignorance.

Any opinions as to why?

Answer 1

I would say that it is about equal between the two nations.

robin - your first sentence equally applies to US citizens.  Exactly the same applies to your second sentence.  As for the third sentence, total garbage.  Your last sentence sums it up well.

Answer 2

The British Constitution and State is a very different beast to the American one - it is hard to compare a written Constitution with an unwritten one but that is no reason to write it down.  That's the difference.  

The British one is more adaptable and open to interpretation according to what circumstances present themselves - the American one and any other one that is written down will ossify over time.  

Answer 3

Difficult to say with any real precision.It's clearly (at least in part)  a cultural difference based on the emphasis given to the subject in the two countries both at school and in everyday life.

For obvious reasons the concept of "a Constitution" is far clearer , more accessible and easier to understand in a nation which has a single document as its source.Our "constitution" of course has many sources and is, I would suggest, correspondingly more difficult to get to grips with and the concept itself probably means very little to the average UK citizen. The term "British Constitution" is hardly one you hear everyday in UK.

Although some "civics" are apparently taught in schools I doubt if the National Curriculum places much emphasis on British Government or Constitutional Law as such.Hence there are probably quite a few hazy notions of how UK government actually works if not a lot of gaps in understanding.  

Answer 4

i am not so much  appalled by the ignorance of british posters as i am of their smug assurance that they are correct when passing on totally incorrect information.  i think i've noticed a propensity among british posters to speak with great authority on subject about which they know little, or about which they are misinformed.  certainly some americans are also guilty of this, but it just seems much more prevalent among brits.  at least as evidenced on yahoo answers.  who know if the folks who post on yahoo answers are really that representative of their countries?

Answer 5

I would disagree with you. Two party politics is a corruption of any Democratic state. Proportional representation is the closest form of a representative Democracy.

Each country has it's issues based upon their particular 'representation' - in the US how come each state having 2 Senators despite what level of population they have.

I disagree basically with both states interpretation of what a Democratic model is.

So ignorance, may be but people post questions & answers by their experience.  

Answer 6

The UK does not have a written constitution.

Answer 7

Hmm.  Well I'd contest that Americans are necessarily better informed.  I've met a number who display a surprising lack of knowledge about their Constitution.

I'd say the main reason is that the British Constitution is not written in one document like the American one.  Therefore it's vague and open to interpretation as to its functions, while the American Constitution has a wealth of information from the time such as the Federalist Papers explaining the justifications for every clause.  The British constitution has the same, but spread out over the centuries - such as Bagehot, A V Dicey, Hobbes, and so on.

I agree with you though, that Brits do display an appaling ignorance of their constitution.  They question the monarchy and the Lords, or the nature of the office of Prime Minister, without considering what the alternatives are.  I would not, personally, trade the British constitution for any other.

Answer 8

cos thy av to lren ablt it in skol