American Heritage Midterm

Ben Banneker

• religious appeal to an impartial God

• all children of God entitled to all blessings of freedom and equality

• calls our Jefferson for not living up to the Declaration of Independence

Slaves Petition to Thomas Gage

• appeal directly to God/higher power

• asks for legislation (protects rights long-term)

• religious appeal (slaves and masters can’t practice true Christianity)

Sojourner Truth

• pathos and logos appeal

• Ain’t I a woman?

• natural rights over merit/ability based rights (intelligence doesn’t matter)

• traditional Christianity appeal

Sovereignty

ultimate power

• parliament vs people

Thomas Paine (Common Sense)

• human nature = not fit to rule because not virtuous

• need government ONLY for freedom and security

• colonies have right to their own government

• kings are illegitimate / ruffians

Declaration of Independence

• 4 sections: opening, theoretical core, evidence, and conclusion

• right / duty of revolution

• case against the king

• power to the people

• natural rights

• equality

• free and independent states

• new nation

Abigail Adam’s

• remember the ladies

• religious appeal

• men are tyrants

• equality and liberty are inseparable

• women will use the power they have to overthrow the men

John Adam’s

• too much chaos already

• long live the patriarchy

Thomas Jefferson

• unsure about truths he wrote in the Declaration

• sees obstacles to a multicultural society (very racist)

• asks Banneker for evidence that Blacks are equal to whites

Elizabeth Cady Staton

• ethical appeal (ethos)

• “he has” / rewords the Declaration

• language of Rights

• words have power

• married women = civilly dead

• marital tyranny

Sandel’s libertarianism

MINIMAL STATE

(other libertarians: Milton Freedman and Nochick)

Free rider

person who benefits from public good without contributing to its cost

Locke’s 5 principles

1. state of nature

2. create a government or social contract

3. duty of government to protect rights ONLY

4. consent of governed

5. right to revolt

Rule of Law

1. Generality (apply to broad categories in written law)

2. Prospectivity (apply to future, not past)

3. Publicity (known and certain)

4. Due Process (administered/enforced impartially)

5. Consent (generally acceptable to those who must live by them; MUST petition to change or vote or act in some way)

Ben Franklin

• value in life = money

• need for saving

• being poor is a choice

• PIFF (prudence, independence, industry, frugality)

Brennan and Jaworski

• if you can do it for free, you can do it for money

• extremists

• everything should connect to market

Adam Smith

• invisible hand

• no gov intervention

• people are self-interested

• rationality means wanting to earn money

• specialization (focus resources and time on less products)

• law of comparative advantage

• people vote with their wallets

• capitalism / free trade

• consumer sovereignty

• believed mercantilism is wrong

Mercantilism

all gold goes to King’s treasury

• regulated trade with tariffs and subsidies

• higher exports than imports

• measure of success was amount of gold in King’s treasury

Cotton Mather

• self interest is to be saved

• benefit of society

• glorifying God

• 2 callings: serve Jesus and work

Sperling

3 principles

• all forms of competition are structured by policy/rules

• choices are about what type of competition we promote

• never structure markets in ways that punish virtuous behavior

Calvin

• man is evil and slave to sin

• saved by grace alone

• God choose

• no rewards for good behavior

• republic is formed as a covenant between people for purpose of glorifying God

• motivations: body of Christ, knot together by ligament of love, united, if one suffers all suffer, take care of each other

• religious and secular authority are separate but share common purpose

Hobbes

• human nature = horrible, war of all against all

• justification for power is instrumental for survival

• give power to king to save us from each other

Aristotle / Greeks

• focus on virtue

• telos / purpose based

• justice is honorific (what virtues should be honored/rewarded)

• purpose of politics is to cultivate virtue and develop good character

• freedom = participation in government and community life

Williams

• LIBERTY

• religion = personal

• separation of church and state

Cotton

• ORDER

• power corrupts

• power should be limited

• don’t give extra power to anyone

• human nature = self interested

• God sets limit on power

Law of Comparative Advantage

• everybody is a low opportunity cost producer of something

• specialize in producing goods for lowest opportunity cost

• not what you do best, but what you can produce at the lowest cost

Sandel’s utilitarianism

• telos based

• fairness and equality (some things should be allocated based on ability to pay)

• freedom and consent (genuine consent may not be able to happen because of conditions of choice)

• public / higher goods (selling some things degraded you as a person / degraded the thing)

Principles of Markey Economy

1. Law of Demand

2. Law of Supply

3. Equilibrium price

4. Profits (high attracts resources and new businesses, low firms exit)

Normative

moral assumptions

North colonies

• religious

• Puritans: purify church, city upon hill, calling to do good, calling in job keep each other in check, perfect society

• pilgrims: freedom of religion, mayflower compact

South colonies

• GOLD

• Jamestown with John Roulfe (tobacco)

• work: slavery (cheapest) and indentured servants

John Winthrop

• laced together in love

• body of Christ

• natural liberty: freedom to choose

• civil liberty: do good and only good

Opportunity Cost

best thing you give up to do/have something else

Collective Action Problem

situation where group would be better by cooperation but won’t because the can’t

Solutions:

• Selective incentives (money)

• Political entrepreneurs (someone who can organize action)

• Ideologies / Belief system (most powerful and fragile)

• Governments (forces collective action)

Human Predicament Cycle

Tyranny→ Revolution→ Anarchy→ Competing groups

Alternative is good society

Oaks

• 2 commitments: Followers of Christ and Citizens

• Rule of law; respect laws as government system and ALL people follow

VS

• Rule of will; forcing others to do your will even when it’s against the law

• Constitutional patriotism: loyalty to the constitution and loving other and rule of law

• Reconciliation = joining 2 unlike things in harmony

• Compromise

Rauche

• thick christianity

• strong beliefs and institutions, train up members, lots of requirements