Democracy and American Politics Overview

What is politics?

Politics is the people, processes, and institutions (government) that make public policy.

What is the authoritative allocation of societal values?

It refers to the process of determining how resources are collected and distributed within society.

What are the three competing values in American society?

1) Freedom: ability to think and act as one wants. 2) Order: rule of law, justice, safety, and security. 3) Equality: being treated the same under the law.

How do political ideologies rank values?

Conservative: order, freedom, equality; Liberal: equality, freedom, order; Libertarian: freedom, freedom, order; Totalitarian: order, order, order; Anarchist: freedom, freedom, freedom.

What does democracy mean?

Democracy comes from 'demos' meaning 'the people' and 'kratein' meaning 'to rule', signifying 'rule by the people'.

What is direct democracy?

A system where all citizens meet regularly to participate in government decisions.

What is representative democracy?

A system where citizens elect representatives to make government decisions on their behalf.

What are the fundamental principles of representative democracy?

1) Popular sovereignty: government policies reflect the people's wishes. 2) Competitive elections: leaders are elected. 3) Majority rule: policies should reflect what most people want.

What are the assumptions of popular sovereignty?

1) Elections are free and fair. 2) People participate in the political process. 3) High-quality information about leaders and policies is available.

What measurements assess popular sovereignty?

1) Does the government act according to citizens' wishes? 2) Do citizens participate in politics? 3) Is public deliberation on policy issues of high quality?

What is political equality?

Political equality means each person's vote and political decisions carry the same weight.

What is political liberty?

Basic freedoms essential to a democracy, aimed at preventing the tyranny of the majority.

What measurements assess political liberty?

1) Are citizens' rights universally protected? 2) Are people free to vote and speak openly? 3) Are rights of minorities threatened?

What measurements assess political equality?

1) Do some groups have advantages in the political process? 2) Do government policies benefit some groups more than others?

What questions arise about democracy?

1) Are the people knowledgeable? 2) Do interest groups help or hinder? 3) Do political parties offer clear choices?

What are objections to majoritarian representative democracy?

1) 'Majority tyranny' threatens liberty. 2) Low voter turnout challenges participation. 3) Economic inequality affects political equality.

What challenges does democracy face?

1) Increased technical expertise. 2) Limited participation in government. 3) Escalating campaign costs. 4) Diverse political interests leading to policy gridlock.

What is political science?

The systematic, scientific study of political systems, involving normative and empirical questions.

What are the levels of analysis in social science research?

1) Description: what IS. 2) Explanation: causes and effects. 3) Evaluation: good or bad? 4) Prescription: what should be done.

What key question does this course address?

How democratic is the United States?