Government: Chapter 1: Critical Thinking and Political Culture

Critical Thinking:

Determining what can reasonably be believed and then using the information to reach a thoughtful conclusion.

Obstacles have increased in recent decades because…

• Many newer sources of information routinely slant or invent information and hide contradictory info.

  • Political leaders often make deceptive claims.

• Our mental habits can lead us to hold false beliefs.

Political Science:

The systematic study of gov’t and politics.

Analytical Tools for PoliSci:

• Reliable information about how the U.S. political system operates.

  • Systemic generalizations about major tendencies in American politics.

Political Culture:

The widely shared and deep-seated beliefs of a country’s people about politics.

• Defines the relationship between citizens and gov’t

Americans’ core ideals are rooted in the…

European heritage of the first white settlers.

Which ethnic groups make up a majority of the U.S.?

Germans Americans followed closely by Mexican Americans and Irish Americans.

What are the 3 core values in America?

Liberty, individualism, equality, and self-government.

Liberty:

The principle that individuals should be free to act as they choose, provided they don’t infringe unreasonably upon others.

• Many fled to Europe to escape religious persecution.

Individualism:

A commitment to personal initiative and self-sufficiency.

• Fostered by the unprecedented economic opportunities of the New World for those willing to work hard enough.

Equality:

The notion that all individuals are equal in their moral worth and thereby entitled to equal treatment under the law.

• Perplexing ideal in the early years of the nation, when some were free, while others were enslaved.

Self-government:

The principle that the people are the ultimate source of governing authority and should have a voice in their governing.

• Vision of a self-governing nation with “just powers [derived] from the consent of the governed”.

Americans’ cultural beliefs are…

idealistic and they fail to meet these high ideals.

Failures to meet these high American ideals:

Slavery and post-slavery Jim Crow era.

Equality has never been an American birthright. Why?

Racial immigration restrictions and limited voting rights.

Politics:

The mean by which society settles its conflicts and allocates the resulting benefits and costs.

• Who gets, what, when, and how.

Power:

• The ability of persons, groups, or institutions to influence political developments.

  • Fame, money, audience in general.

Authoritarian Government:

• One that openly represses its political opponents.

  • The U.S. operates by a different standard based on democracy, constitutionalism, and a free market.

Democracy:

A system in which the people govern, either directly or through elected representatives.

• In practice, it has come to mean majority rule through the free and open election of representatives.

Majoritarianism:

The majority effectively determines what gov’t does.

Pluralism:

The preferences of special interests largely determine what gov’t does.

• An interest group who’re like-minded or are similar.

Authority:

The recognized right of officials to exercise power.

• Authoritarian(tyrannical) would be the opposite.

A Constitutional System

The writers of the U.S. Constitution devised an elaborate system of checks and balances; and a Bill of Rights was added.

• Limit abuse of power.

Constitutionalism:

The idea that there are lawful restrictions on government’s power.

Legal action:

The use of the courts as a means of asserting rights and interests.

• Ordinary citizens can exercise power.

Free-market system:

A system that operates mainly private transactions.

Corporate power:

The influence business firms have on public policy.

Elitism:

The power exercised by well-positioned and highly influential.

Socialism:

When the gov’t owns the means of production and the capital.

• Often times both parties will look at socialism as a bad thing. However, this is the opposite they usually have the richest economy.

Americans cultural commitment to individualism leads a majority to rate what?

The “freedom to pursue life’s goals” as more important than making sure that “nobody is in need”.