Module 1: Founding of the Nation

Politics

is the struggle over power or influence within organizations or informal groups that can grant or withhold benefits or privileges, or as Harold Dwight Lasswell (Professor of Yale Univ., Law) puts it, “who gets what, when, and how.”

institution

is an ongoing organization that performs certain functions for society.

Government

is the institution in which decisions are made that resolve conflicts or allocate benefits and privileges. It is unique because it has the ultimate authority within society.

Why Is Government Necessary?:

security, order, liberty, authority, legitimacy

order;

that is, a state of peace and security. Maintaining order by protecting members of society from violence and criminal activity is the oldest purpose of government.

Moral regulatory policy can be very controversial because it involves values about which people may strongly disagree.

Liberty,

or the greatest freedom of individuals that is consistent with the freedom of other individuals in society.

authority

is the right and power of a government or other entity to enforce its decisions and compel obedience

legitimacy

is popular acceptance of the right and power of a government or other entity to exercise authority.

Types of Government

Totalitarian regime, Authoritarianism, Aristocracy, Democracy

Totalitarian regime

is a form of government in which a small group or an individual controls all aspects of the political and social life of a nation.

Authoritarianism

is a type of regime in which only the government itself is fully controlled by the ruler. Social and economic institutions exist that are not under the government’s control.

Aristocracy

is the rule by the “best”; in reality, rule by an upper class. Ancient Greeks used the term oligarchy for rule by the few.

Democracy

is a system of government in which political authority is vested in the people. Derived from the Greek words demos (the people) and kratos (authority).

Direct democracy

is a system of government in which political decisions are made by the people directly, rather than by their elected representatives; probably attained most easily in small political communities.

Direct Democracy Today

Key concepts are the initiative, referendum, recall

initiative

a procedure by which voters can propose a law or a constitutional amendment

referendum

an electoral device whereby legislative or constitutional measures are referred by the legislature to the voters for approval or disapproval

recall

a procedure allowing the people to vote to dismiss an elected official from state office before his or her term has expired.

Teledemocracy

Does the Internet really have any impact on our democratic system? Because of the Internet, Americans have more access to political information than ever before. Further, they can contact their elected representatives, form political interest groups, and even vote online. The Obama campaign in 2008 pioneered the use of the Internet to build a fundraising base and communicate regularly with supporters.

The Dangers of Direct Democracy

Although the founders believed in government based on the consent of the people, they were highly distrustful of anything that might look like “mob rule.” They, therefore, devised institutions to filter the popular will through elected elites.

A Democratic Republic

The terms republic and democratic republic are key, as is the term representative democracy. The differences between these terms are subtle. By itself, a republic can have many undemocratic features. Democratic republic and representative democracy really mean the same thing—government based on elected representatives.

 Principles of Democratic Government.

These include universal suffrage, the right of all adults to vote for their representatives, and majority rule, which means that the greatest number of citizens in any political unit should select the officials and determine policies.

 Constitutional Democracy.

The key concept is limited government, the principle that the powers of government should be limited, usually by institutional checks. Without such limits, democracy could destroy itself.

Majoritarianism

is a political theory holding that in a democracy, the government ought to do what the majority of the people want. Popular as a principal but determining what constitutes a majority can be difficult in practice.

Elite theory

assumes the population has little impact on the decision-making process. Ultimately, policy decisions are made by a select few within the society. These elites share a goal of governmental stability because they do not want their position within society jeopardized. Studies of elite opinion, however, suggest that elites are more tolerant of diversity, more willing to defend individual liberties, and more supportive of democratic values than are members of the mass public.

Pluralism

is a theory assumes that our form of democracy is based on group interests. Groups, or factions, work to promote their interests and through a series of compromises, public policy decisions are made.

political culture

the set of ideas, values, and ways of thinking about government and politics that are shared by all citizens.

political socialization

ensures that successive generations of Americans adopt these values.

 Individual Freedom

Most of the explicitly guaranteed liberties appear in the Bill of Rights, or the first ten amendments to the Constitution. These rights are not absolute and may be curtailed during wartime or when rights conflict with one another. An example of this conflict is liberty versus security.

Equality

There are many kinds of equality, some of which are more controversial than others. Equality under the law regardless of race, religion, or gender is a popular value today, but was not accepted as a norm even fifty years ago. Equality of opportunity is a concept with much support. Economic equality is more controversial because to pursue this goal would require a redistribution of wealth from rich to poor. Regardless, the notion of egalitarianism is quite prevalent in U.S. anti-poverty policies.

Order func

A primary function of government is to promote stability and order in daily life. Although citizens expect to be free of chaos, the values of liberty, equality, and order are often in tension with one another.

Property

Economic equality fairness as a value comes into conflict with property rights and with the capitalist system in general.

Capitalism

an economic system characterized by the private ownership of wealth-creating assets and also by free markets and freedom of contract.

The Traditional Political Spectrum

1. Socialism. Socialism

2. Libertarianism

Socialism.

is a political ideology based on strong support for economic and social equality, falls on the left side of the spectrum. Socialists traditionally envisioned a society in which major businesses were taken over by the government or by employee cooperatives.

Libertarianism

This is a political ideology based on skepticism or opposition toward almost all government activities, falls on the right side of the spectrum.

Liberalism

The term liberal is often traced to philosophical liberalism, also called individualism, at the core of John Locke’s philosophy of government. In this sense preserving individual liberty and property rights is paramount among the reasons for having government.

Conservatism

In the past conservatism was linked to resistance to change; however, today the meaning is often two-fold. Economic conservatives differ from social conservatives. Economic conservatives believe in less government, support for capitalism and private property, and allowing individuals to pursue their own route to achievement with little government interference. Social conservatives support traditional social values, including opposition to abortion, support for the death penalty or the right to own firearms, and opposition to gay marriage.

Libertarianism

Libertarians believe that government should not regulate the economy and advocate almost complete freedom in social matters. They oppose government action to promote traditional moral values, although such action is often favored by other groups on the political right. Libertarians’ strong support for civil liberties seems to align them more closely with modern liberals than with conservatives.

What ideologies influenced the development of Europe and Asia?

Communism and fascism

Radical Islam

The ideology embraced by al Qaeda and several other terrorist and political movements is based on a radical and fundamentalist interpretation of Islam, an interpretation sometimes called Islamism or Radical Islam. The goal of this ideology is to bring all Muslim peoples back to a form of government ruled by religious leaders according to the strict interpretation of the Koran.

Demographic Change in a Democratic Republic

The proportion of Americans who are elderly is growing even as our fertility rate is leveling-off.

 Ethnic Change

The Hispanic and Asian portions of the U.S. population are expected to increase in future generations. This is due not only to immigration but also to high fertility rates of new immigrant families after they settle in this country.

Key term: Hispanic, someone who can claim a heritage from a Spanish-speaking country. Over half are Mexican Americans, a tenth are Puerto Ricans, and the rest come from a very wide range of countries.

Globalization

refers to the interconnection of markets and economies across the globe. This trend is challenging to all nations because no single nation can regulate global corporations. Globalization also changes employment patterns, shifting jobs from one nation to another.

Environmental Change

The great majority of scientists believe that global warming is taking place. There is pressure for the United States to enter treaties that limit carbon emissions, but this is controversial.