Gov 312 midterm

The Big 4

race, socioeconoomic class, gender, and religion

Scientific Method Steps

1. make observations
2. develop theoretical framework
3. form **falsifiable** hypothesis
4. collect data to test hypothesis
5. draw conclusions
6. Systpublicize results
7. wait for rebuttals and revisions

Issues with social science

* incredibly complex systems
* ethical & practical issues with conducting experiments, making it difficult to rule out confounding variables

what do they do as a result?

more methodologically complicated studies that attempt to isolate effects of X and Y

How?

by making observations and developing theoretical framework

most important invention of all time?

fire? democracy? basic human rights? scientific method?

all of the above --- right answer

System level Approach

gov. system designed to make public policy

what makes it successful?

efficiency, natural examples (species evolution), and response to environmental factors (info processing)

Societies need a way to organize themselves by having what?

procedures to set rules, and being able to enforce those rules

Successful gov described as what?

authoritative allocations of values (ex. chore wheel)

Policymaking is process of what?

collecting a resource and then reallocating it to solve problem (too easy to say it’s bad cause of redistribution and there are winners + losers for most policies)

Constitution accomplishes what?

\-establishes “rule of law” in a society

\-basics of policymaking

\-outlines responsibilities of gov. institutions

\-who is eligible for gov positions

Articles of Confederation

\-first consititution ratified in 1781, each state had one vote, no enforcement, required unanimous consent to attend

Origins of Constitution

\-weak national gov, states wouldn’t pay taxes or accomplish anything, couldn’t raise funds for nat. military

What came out of the Constitutional Convention?

bicameral legislation came out of this (except Nebraska only has one chamber)

Policymaking Insitutions

elected- president, congress

unelected- courts, bureaucracy, const. says almost nothing about role of courts of bureaucracy

What level does media coverage spend most of their time on?

Federal level

Congress

* designed to be the most *powerful* branch (federalist papers)
* -primary lawmaking body

What article lists powers of Congress

Article 1 Section 8- Necessary and Proper Clause

Bicameral (House + Senate)

\-compromise between big + small states

\-designed to provide friction + mitigate role of ppl

\-originally no direct election of senators

The President

powerful, yet restrained

head of state- embodies values & traditions “above” politics is unifying symbol

head of gov- highest pol. office, tension with head of state role, policymaking

What is the constitutional basis of presidential powers?

Enumerated Powers- sign bills into law, execute the law, military authority, issue pardons, diplomacy, veto legislation, appts.

Judicial Power

little in constitution regarding judicial checks on other branches

Powers for judicial branch established over time:

judicial review + supremacy of federal courts

Judicial Review

Judiciary Act of 1789 established lower fed courts, also allowed federal officials to ask court for a writ of mandamus

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

established judicial review; midnight appointments did not issue writ of mandamus, empowered court to declare a law unconstitutional

3 Models of Court-Decision Making

1. Legal
2. Ideological - interpreting from their perspective
3. Strategical - want to behave ideologically but is more legal

Bureaucracy

refers to all agencies, work for gov but are not elected (civilian + military bureaucracies)

Bureaucrats as Policy Makers

\-made within executive bureaucracy

\-takes place when agencies have discretion to interpret laws made by legislatures; follows a rule-making process

(ex. marijuana is illegal in TX but Austin PD does not enforce)

Bureaucratic Drift

when policy preferences of Congress or president shift more left or right, so does the agency

Iron Triangle

Public Opinion in a democratic System

\-collection of attitudes, opinions, and preferences of the general public

How does opinion influence public policy?

dynamic responsiveness

direct responsiveness

representatives actively monitor to try and figure out what constituents want + vote accordingly

indirect responsiveness

losing an election because constituents are unhappy (senators are most likely to do this)

Two big concerns

minority rule- norm in oligarchies + dictatorship

tyranny of majority- majority does nasty stuff to minority groups

solution of minority rule

fair democratic systems, competition, one person one vote

solution of tyranny of majority

development of norms/ culture centered on basic human rights, checks from judicial branch

The founders on public opinion

laid foundations for future development of human rights, democratic norms respecting society (bill of rights)

Skepticism of potential dangers

concerned people are uneducated so checks on influence of public opinion

Minority Party Rule

party receives fewer votes but still retains power

(ex. D+R both have 50 seats in Senate but Dems represent 41 mil more Americans)

Americans lack what?

…political knowledge

2/3rds of American adults cannot name Chief Justice of supreme court

Rational ignorance-

we have busy lives and if we feel we can’t change it, we’re not too interested

Non-attitudes

lack of strong opinions

American Electorate

\-behavior of mass public suggest it is possible

\-displays some systematic tendencies

Liberalism Index

higher values= liberal

lower values= conservative

(wouldn’t happen if public was informed)

Thermostatic Behavior

public responds to who’s president

ex. Republican in House, public means more liberal

Aggregation Gain

Individual level: lots of randomness, few ideological ppl

Electorate level: what appears to be some coherent movement, the public is reacting

Public Organizations

Political parties- dem + repub

Interest groups- corporations + orgs

Social Movements- least organized, trying to lobby gov.

What are parties?

-groups that organize to win offices

\-ubiquitous in democracies with strong legislatures

\-organize political conflict

\-complex political organizations

\-unified ideologically

Party Structure

party in government

\-elected officeholders

party as organizations

\-”fundraising” institutional apparatus, helps win elections

party in the electorate

\-group of ppl who identify with a particular party

Interest Group

any group other than a party that is organized to influence government (lobbying)

\-most represent businesses

\-another type is public interest group

Social Movements

\-use popular participation to influence the gov.

\-not formal organizations

\-made up of many interest groups

\-develop when groups feel excluded from political process

Capitalism

economic system where means of production are controlled in large part by private enterprise

Right View of capitalism

Ayn Rand School of Thought

-market outcomes are sacrosanct

\-govt. redistribution is bad

Left View of capitalism

\-growing skepticism with capitalism

\-wants to redistribute govt. funds

Late capitalism

overabundance of consumer choices but foundational needs are not being met

Given sufficient competition (entry + exit points), has potential to:

* process wealth @ extremely high levels
* generates lots of wealth
* increase human agency (meaningful choices)

Unchecked capitalism has potential to produce:

huge inequalities, monopolies, bad working conditions, pollution, etc. (corporations are prioritizing short & medium run games over long run games

Amartya Sen (Uses and Absuses of Adam Smith) says…

gov regulations have to be apart of capitalistic systems to break up monopolies, make working regulations, etc.

Is Inequality inevitable? (Bruce M. Boghesian)

yes. simulation shows that all starting on equal footing still leads to a small percentage of the world amounting all resources

So, what’s the solution?

gov. regulations stop this by breaking monopolies and redistributing funds

Dimensions of Inequality

some level is desirable as it drives competition

Vertical Inequality

income + wealth

Horizontal Inequality

differences in income + wealth observed across race, ethnicity, and gender

Consequences of Inequality

* economic stagnation
* social unrest
* worse health outcomes
* polarization
* lobbying
* unequal application of law

Causes of Inequality

income + wealth inequality is direct consequence of capitalism and free enterprise, necessary to sustain system

Increasing inequality is a function of

economic factors + political factors

What are those economic factors

globalization + tech that eliminate lower skills position

What worsens inequality?

when it finds it’s way into public policy

Cause of post 1980’s rise?

globalization- benefitted consumers (less expensive + higher quality)

lower taxes for wealthy

decline of unions

Unequal democracy thesis

money related to political influence, meaning it could matter a lot in terms of policy

Policies classified as what move system in a liberal direction?

landmark legislation

ex. no child left behind, affordable care act

Public goods benefit who?

those less well-off disproportionately (education)

Major set of exceptions:

tax rate changes

What caused initial inequality for black people?

public policy buttressed by custom + violence

ex. slavery, black codes in south, vigilante actions

public policies used to …

segregate; seen in home ownership

Economic perspective of inequality

distribution of wealth is consequence of market forces

Political science perspective of inequality

distribution of wealth is consequence of policy

Racial inequality is product of

policy + historical institutional processes that have biases that produce long-term consequences

\-unequal outcomes can occur even in absence of racist actors

Racial Formation

socio-historic process by which radical identities are created, experienced, defined, and redefined

Race in racial formation perspective

neither an objective fixed fact or a complete illusion that we can completely move past “element of social structure and dimension of human representation”

Racialization

extension of racial meaning to previously unclassified relationships/ practices/ groups

Race in racialization perspective

fluid, context dependent; contested from above (oppression) and below (resistance)

Racial Projects

how racial formation processes occur through a linkage between structure & representation; whenever race is invoked or signified, or social structures are being organized along racial lines

Race in that perspective

observed differences can be understood as a product of different treatment embedded in policy, rather than biology

Racial formation in Politics

racial hierarchy is embedded in constitution through protection of slavery

\-3/5ths clause + proportional rep. in House

\-electoral college

\-the “domestic insurrections clause”

\-equal rep. in Senate

\-veto any policy impacting slavery

Southern veto

political power held by slave states in congress established via equal representation in senate

13th amendment

abolishes involuntary servitude (except convicts)

14th amendment

provided citizenship rights for newly freed slaves; extends rights protections to all citizens of US (equal protection clause)

15th amendment

prohibits curtailing access to the right to vote on basis of race

Jim Crow

formal, codified system of enforced racial order (ex. of racial project)

Slaughterhouse cases (1873)

14th amendment only protects legal rights associated with federal citizenship (ex. bill of rights doesn’t inhibit state action)

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

14th amendment doesn’t prohibit social discrimination; separate but equal is lawful

Black Codes in south

criminalized everyday behavior while Black-violation of which carried a sentence of hard labor via convict leasing system

Criminalizing black pverty in north

rates of poverty and arrests taken as statistical proof that black people were predisposed to engage in crime

example of racialization

reconstruction through criminalizing blackness

new deal policies that remade the american political landscape

emergency banking act, works progress administration, social security act

why are civil rights acts passed?

ongoing agitations from citizens demanding lawmakers make good on the radical promise of equality under the law- also embedded in constitution

Multiple traditions thesis

competing ideologies- equality & ascriptive racial hierarchy