The Decline of Federalism and the Rise of Morality-Policy Conflict in the United States

Morality policies-such as those pertaining to abortion, capital punishment, gambling, gay rights, pornography, and sex education—generate conflict over core values. These policies tend to be technically simple, potentially salient to the general public, and involve higher than normal levels of citizen participation. They are, therefore, highly susceptible to being thrust into the active phase of policymaking when an incongruity develops between public opinion and public policy. The reservation of authority to the states on these issues embodied in the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution allows for closer policy-opinion congruence, therefore stabilizing morality policy politics. However, recent federal actions on a range of morality policies have thrust these issues onto the active political agenda of the states. Copyright , Oxford University Press.