La notion de « responsabilité » dans le discours politique américain de 1980 à 2010 : le transfert rhétorique et idéologique des Républicains aux Démocrates

Abstract

This article analyzes the transfer of the notion of “responsibility” in American political discourse, particularly regarding social matters. Since the Reagan presidency, the Republicans have attacked social policies using the notion of personal responsibility, depicting the American system of social policies as favoring dependency, irresponsibility, and immorality. This discourse led to the failure of the Clinton health reform in 1994. Instead of a more generous health policy, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 was passed by the newly elected Republican Congress. The new legislation tied benefits to strong work requirements, thus substituting workfare to welfare. But this rhetorical and ideological framework has changed with Barack Obama. The analysis of his discourse shows that he uses the notion of responsibility to his own advantage, promoting more social policies such as the Affordable Care Act of 2010 or education reform. The examination of different speeches made by Barack Obama shows how he links the personal responsibility of the citizens to the government’s responsibility in order to legitimize more generous and comprehensive social policies.

Keywords

• responsibility
• social policies
• Affordable Care Act
• Obama
• education
• government