Political Thought and Action - Exam II

What is “power to”?

Power as a capacity to achieve a desired outcome

What is “power over”?

Power as relational; the ability to get others to do what you want (domination)

How can the two views of power be reconciled?

See power as the capacity to dominate or to make binding decisions. Power is also “essentially contested.”

What are the three main questions about power?

Who has power? What does it mean to have power? (both positivist). Who should have power? (normative)

Describe the decision-making face of power and name its key theorist.

Power = who gets their way in observable decisions. Dahl asks who gets their way, how often, and on what topics. It is actor-centered and zero-sum. Hobbes treated power as mechanical cause and effect.

What are the limits of the decision-making face?

It ignore nonaction and process, assumes power exists only with observable conflict, and assumes stated preferences are true interests

Describe the agenda-setting face of power

Power is controlling which issues are considered, including blocking change and preserving the status quo (nonaction). “Some issues are organized into politics, others out.”

What are the limits of agenda-setting?

It’s still focused on decisions, actors, and elites, and it still assumes stated preferences are accurate. It ignores manipulation of preferences and information.

Describe the preference manipulation face and give examples of its theorists.

Power is shaping what people want and believe. Absence of conflict doesn’t mean equal power.

• Examples: Neustadt (presidential power), Pateman (sexual contract), Riker (heresthetic). Related traditions: Marxist ideology, critical theory, feminist patriarchy.

What is the main criticism of preference manipulation theories?

They are subjective and normative. They need a standard of truth to say someone’s “real” interests differ from what they say

What is the fourth face of power (Heywood and Chin)?

Power is productive: it creates meanings and identities through “discourses of power,” which set up insiders and outsiders

Critical theory vs. post-structuralism?

Critical theory (Frankfurt School; Horkheimer, Habermas): emancipation, uncovering oppression, critical of existing institutions. Post-structuralism (Foucault, Derrida, Heidegger): power in language and meaning-making, no objective truths, relativist, criticized as upholding the status quo

What is heresthetic and what are its tactics?

Riker’s “art of political manipulation”: structuring decision situations so you win.

• Tactics: agenda control, strategic voting (including vote trading), dimension manipulation, participant curation

How does authority differ from power?

Power = actually influencing behavior (whose order is obeyed). Authority = the perceived right to rule, with moral obligation to obey (whose order should be obeyed)

“In authority” vs. “an authority”?

In authority = a position with the right to command. An authority = expertise, whose views get special consideration but aren’t automatically obeyed

Name the three types of authority.

1. Traditional (“always existed,” hierarchical status; the Crown).

2. Charismatic (personal qualities, no office).

3. Legal-rational (defined rules and limits; rule of law)

What are the three justification positions on authority?

1. Limited authority based on consent (social contract)

2. Authority is needed (natural leadership, cohesion)

3. Reject authority as oppressive (anarchism, libertarianism, socialism)

Legitimacy vs. authority?

Authority is ascribed to people or offices; legitimacy to institutions or political systems. Legitimacy means “rightful use of power”; lose it and authority is at risk

What are Beetham’s conditions of legitimacy?

Power exercised by established rules; rules justified by beliefs shared by governors and governed; expressed consent

Tacit vs. explicit consent?

Tacit = implied agreement to obey. Explicit = verbal or written confirmation of the government’s authority

What do constitutions do?

They establish legitimacy by specifying government structure, powers, citizens’ rights, and limits, which makes leaders easier to hold accountable. Rule of law is a common element

How did the French and Indian War lead to revolution?

The war was expensive, so Britain looked to the colonies to recoup costs through new taxes, such as the Stamp Act (1765)

What was the colonial objection to the Stamp Act?

“Taxation without representation”: property taken without consent by a distant government, a denial of the social contract and natural rights

What is “right consciousness”?

Dissent based on violations of individual sovereignty, consent of the governed, and representation. It is evidence of Lockean liberalism

What did the Continental Congresses debate?

Reform or revolution

Who wrote Common Sense and what was its impact?

Thomas Paine (1776), anonymous. About 500,000 copies sold; a blunt argument for independence

Why does Paine say the British constitution isn’t a legitimate social contract?

It mixes monarchy, aristocracy, and republican elements with hereditary power independent of the people. It rests on privilege, not consent

Why can’t the colonies reconcile with Britain, per Paine?

Too much harm has been done, so reconciliation would be temporary “patchwork.” Dependence also drags America into European wars

What does Paine say colonists should do?

Declare independence and create a representative continental government with a written charter. “The law will be king.”

What does the Declaration say about where government comes from and its purpose?

Government comes from the people via social contract. Its purpose is to secure life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

What may people do when the government violates those rights?

Petition, then alter or abolish it (dissolve the social contract).

Why don’t people revolt more often, according to the Declaration?

People will tolerate violations that aren’t too severe.

Name the key weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.

One-branch unicameral Congress; one vote per state; 9 of 13 states to pass laws; all 13 to amend; no power to tax or pay debts; no way to force state compliance; state rivalries.

Why were Americans wary of a strong national government?

Distrust of power far from the people; state constitutions were separate sovereign social contracts, and primary allegiance was to the home state.

What is The Federalist?

85 essays (1787-88) by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay supporting ratification, showing why the Articles failed and why the Constitution best preserves the Union

What are the main points of Federalist 51 (Madison)?

• Give each branch “a will of its own”

• Checks and balances

• “ambition must counteract ambition”

• divide power between branches and between federal and state governments

• extended republic limits localized interests

What are the three definitions of politics?

1. Government (formal institutions)

2. Public affairs (community life, public vs. private)

3. Power and conflict (wherever power is unequal, including private life)

How does Weber define politics?

Leading or influencing the leadership of a state, which holds legitimate force in its territory

Hobbes’s view of the state of nature and government?

Life is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.” People create a social contract and government for security and order

Aristotle on politics?

Man is by nature a political animal.” The good life is achieved through participation in a political community; politics is an ethical activity concerned with justice and the common good

Liberals vs. republicans on public life?

Liberals protect private life from interference. Republicans emphasize participation, civic responsibility, and the common good

Name Aristotle’s three good and three corrupt forms of government.

Good: monarchy (one), aristocracy (few), polity (many).

Corrupt: tyranny, oligarchy, democracy. Classified by who rules and who benefits

What is Aristotle’s ideal government?

A mixed system favoring the middle class, which is less likely to pursue extreme or narrow interests

What are the major themes and elements of republicanism?

Themes: non-domination, common good, public activity.

Elements: popular sovereignty, representation, rule of law, separation of powers, checks and balances, civic virtue, public good

What does “freedom as non-domination” mean?

Protection from arbitrary or tyrannical power, not simply being left alone

Name the four characteristics of a state

Defined territory, permanent population, government, sovereignty

State vs. government?

The state is the continuing political entity. Government is the machinery and leadership that exercise its authority and can be replaced while the state continues

What are the functions of government?

Legislation, administration, judiciary, foreign relations

Absolutist vs. constitutional state?

Absolutist (Hobbes, Bodin): power centralized in one sovereign for order and stability.

Constitutional: authority from consent and limited by law, serving the common good

Legal vs. political sovereignty?

Legal: compliance through legitimacy

Political: compliance through actual power or domination

Internal vs. external sovereignty?

Internal: where domestic authority sits within the state.

External: independence from other states. If external sovereignty is threatened, internal may be lost (e.g., conquest)

Machiavelli’s main themes?

Realism (politics as it is), not reliant on religion, security and stability, politics as the pursuit of power. Wrote The Prince in 1513

Feared or loved?

Feared, if you must choose, but avoid being hated. Respect subjects’ property and families

What is the lion and fox?

Lion = force; fox = cunning. A prince needs both

What does Machiavelli say in Ch. XVIII about appearance vs. reality?

Appearances matter more than reality: appear merciful and faithful. “Everyone sees what you seem to be, few perceive what you are.”

When is cruelty useful, and what are its limits?

Useful to establish order. It should be used only when necessary, applied quickly and decisively, aimed at stability, and stopped once control is established

How do princes earn esteem (Ch. XXI)? Why take sides?

Ambitious actions, military success, rewarding talent, encouraging commerce, leadership in crises. Neutrality earns no gratitude and breeds distrust, so take sides

How should a prince choose advisers (Ch. XXII)?

Competent, loyal, honest, and focused on the state’s interests. Advisers reflect the quality of the prince

What does law do, and what are its characteristics?

Structures individual-individual and individual-state relations (obligations, prohibitions, rights). Institutionalized, universal in its jurisdiction, compulsory, enforceable, public, binding

What is the rule of law?

Laws, not individuals, govern: no one above the law, equal application, limits on government, accessible and predictable, no ex post facto punishment, impartial courts, protects rights

Critics of the rule of law?

Marxists (protects property and capitalism), feminists (male-dominated values), multicultural theorists (dominant culture), Indigenous scholars (colonial power). Formal equality can hide real inequality

Natural law?

Law should conform to higher moral standards of justice; the law’s purpose is partly to promote morality. Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Locke, Jefferson

Aquinas’s qualification on natural law?

Reason reveals natural law, but not every moral failing should be prohibited, since that could cause greater harm

Positive law?

Law is law because it is properly enacted, not because it’s moral. About what law is, not what it ought to be. Hobbes, Bentham, Austin, Hart. Change unjust laws through proper processes

Hart’s primary vs. secondary rules?

Primary regulate behavior (e.g., no theft). Secondary establish how laws are created, recognized, changed, and applied

Legal realism?

Law is what judges say it is. Judges are political actors, and law changes with court makeup (Holmes). Challenges the rule-of-law ideal and may lower confidence in impartiality

Mill’s harm principle?

Restrict liberty only to prevent harm to others, not because choices are immoral or unwise. Critique: colonialist assumptions

Devlin’s position?

Shared public morality is essential to society, so law may enforce morality that protects the social fabric. Critique: may reflect majority prejudice

What is order?

Stable, regular, predictable behavior; the opposite of chaos

Social control view of order?

Order is imposed from above. Humans are selfish or corrupt, order is fragile, crime reflects moral failure and must be punished. Conservative; Hobbes, Burke, Oakeshott

Burke and Oakeshott?

Burke: tradition and inherited institutions; society is organic and fragile; rapid change is dangerous.

Oakeshott: familiar traditions give security and identity. (Concern: can justify exclusion or assimilation.)

Natural harmony view of order?

Order arises naturally through cooperation. Disorder comes from inequality, property, and unjust law and government. Rousseau, Marx, socialists, anarchists

Hart’s “being obliged” vs. “having an obligation”?

Obliged = acting under pressure or threat.

Obligation = a duty or responsibility

Legal, moral, political obligation?

Legal: enforceable duty under law

Moral: ethical duty regardless of law

Political: duty to recognize state authority and obey its laws

Hobbes vs. Locke on political obligation?

Hobbes: strong obligation to avoid chaos; sovereign not reciprocally bound.

Locke: natural rights precede government; government holds power in trust and can be replaced if it breaches it

Other social contract thinkers?

Rousseau: legitimate when laws express the general will

Kant: contract as a rational standard, not a historical event

Rawls: original position to find fair principles

Criticisms of social contract theory?

Most never explicitly consent; hard to leave; society shapes identity; benefiting doesn’t prove consent to every law

Alternatives to the social contract?

• Teleological obligation (obey because the state promotes good outcomes; utilitarian).

• Natural duty (membership in society creates duties; conservative, socialist, and communitarian anarchist versions).

• Wolff’s philosophical anarchism questions any general duty to obey.

Rebellion vs. revolution?

Rebellion: attempt to overthrow or resist authority

Revolution: fundamental transformation of the system, not just officeholders

What is civil disobedience, and when might it be justified?

Public, principled, generally nonviolent law-breaking, accepting punishment, aimed at change. Justified when laws violate fundamental rights, minorities are denied equal treatment, or legal avenues are ineffective. Thoreau, Gandhi, King

What are the four steps in a nonviolent campaign (King)?

1. Collect facts

2. Negotiate

3. Self-purification

4. Direct action

   1. Evidence: bombings, police brutality, unequal courts, a segregated Birmingham, refused negotiations

What is citizenship, and what are Marshall’s three rights?

Membership in a political community with rights and obligations (legal status plus identity). Civil, political, social rights

Social vs. active citizenship?

Social (Marshall, modern liberalism, socialism): social rights and equality, government levels the playing field.

Active (republicanism, classical liberalism, New Right): self-reliance, duty, voluntary community action, critical of the welfare state.

Social asks what society owes citizens; active asks what citizens owe communities

Criticisms of active citizenship?

Reinforces inequality, assumes equal opportunity, prioritizes economic independence over political participation, and stresses duties over rights

Problem with universal citizenship, and how do Young and Kymlicka respond?

Identical treatment can reinforce inequality.

Young: differentiated citizenship.

Kymlicka: self-government, polyethnic, and representation rights

Liberty vs. license? Rawls on equal liberty?

Liberty = freedom within limits

License = abusive freedom that harms others.

Rawls: the greatest liberty compatible with the same liberty for everyone

Negative freedom?

Freedom from interference (Locke, classical liberalism, Berlin). Implications: law restricts freedom, linked to choice and privacy, individuals are rational. Criticism: “freedom to starve.”

Positive freedom?

Freedom to be your own master: self-government, self-development, resources to achieve goals. Outcome-focused, supports state intervention. Criticism: state may impose what it thinks is best.

Legal vs. moral rights?

Legal rights are recognized and enforceable; moral rights rest on ethical or religious claims

Civil rights vs. civil liberties?

Civil liberties are freedoms protected from government interference, while civil rights protect equal treatment

Natural rights vs. human rights?

Natural (Locke): life, liberty, property, from human nature and reason, not about social equality.

Human rights (20th century): universal, inalienable, absolute, grounded in shared humanity (UN Declaration 1948). Disputed cases: abortion, end of life

What is the environmental rights argument?

Humans have no natural right to dominate the earth; nature is an interconnected whole, and the state has a moral obligation to intervene to preserve the world and future of humanity

Douglass: why can’t he celebrate July 4th?

Celebrated freedom excludes the enslaved, exposing national hypocrisy. “This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn.”

How does Douglass argue slavery denies humanity?

Enslaved people are treated as property while the law acknowledges their humanity by punishing disobedience. They work, learn, think, raise families, and worship like anyone else

Anthony: what rights were violated?

Natural, civil, and political rights; representation as one of the taxed; degraded “from the status of a citizen to that of a subject”; unequal law; no consent to government

Anthony: why no trial by peers?

Every judge and juror was a man and her “political sovereign,” not her peer. Laws were “made by men, interpreted by men, administered by men, in favor of men.”

Hughes: promise vs. reality?

America promises freedom and equality, but marginalized groups (Black, Native, immigrants, poor, workers) are excluded and exploited. “America never was America to me.”

Hughes: his vision and how to achieve it?

A country belonging to all, reached through collective action. “And yet I swear this oath, America will be!” and “We, the people, must redeem the land.” Patriotism means confronting injustice.