WEEK 1

Defining Politics

-              Harold Laswell’s Definition

o   Who gets what, when and how.

-              David Easton’s Definition

o   “A political system can be designated as those interactions through which
values are authoritatively allocated for a society

Another way of looking at Politics

-              How do we allocate limited resources in our society with unlimited wants and
demands?

-              How are rival claims settled by public authorities?

Government

-              Definition

o   A set of institutions that make and enforce collective, public
decisions. Also the current group in power

-              Government is…

1.        Everywhere

2.        Multiple

3.        Necessary

-              Politicians

o   Are elected by us

o   Not permanent

o   They make policies

-              Bureaucracy

o   Bureaucrats work for the government as a career

o   Examples – the person who renews your driver’s licence, the person who processes your tax return, police officer

o   They are supposed to implement government policy as determined by
politicians

o   Public administration is the study of the bureaucracy

-              Much more complex and not as simple as it appears

The Political System

-              A political issue involves a decision on the part of society to act in a
particular way

-              Politics is the practice of attempting to influence these collective decisions

-              What is the difference between the way things are, and the way things should be?

What is politics?

-              Politics arises out of scarcity

-              It is not possible for all of us to satisfy all of our desires

-              Politics is the activity by which rival claims are settled by public authorities

Terminology

-              Nation

-              Citizen

-              Sovereign

-              Legitimacy

-              Policies

-              Institution

-              Politicians are elected officials that make policy decisions

-              Bureaucrats or public servants are appointed officials who implement policy decisions

What is Government?

-              It’s the set of institutions that make and enforce collective, public decisions for a society

-              They make appointments, spend money, collect taxes, make laws, and impose their will on society

-              Government vs State