Government and Civic Engagement Notes
Defining Government
Government: The means by which a society organizes itself, allocates authority, and accomplishes collective goals, providing benefits the society needs.
Goals include economic prosperity, secure national borders, and citizen well-being.
Benefits can include education, health care, and infrastructure.
Politics: The process of gaining and exercising control within a government to set and achieve goals, especially concerning resource allocation.
Government vs. Economic Systems
Governmental systems are sometimes confused with economic systems because of their close relationships.
Capitalism developed alongside democratic republics, self-government, and natural rights in Western Europe and North America.
Liberty became important.
John Locke: all people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property.
People should consent to being governed.
People should govern themselves through elected representatives.
Adam Smith:
People should be free to acquire property as they wish.
Businesses should operate freely, keeping their profits.
Competition would ensure low prices and quality goods.
Book: The Wealth of Nations (1776), basis for industrial capitalism.
Representative government and capitalism developed together in the U.S.
Democracy (political system where people govern themselves) is often equated with capitalism.
Democracy promotes individualism and freedom.
Capitalism relies on individualism.
Capitalists seek influence over political systems to maintain their liberty.
Capitalism may negatively impact democracy, leading to wealth gaps and unequal influence over government.
Socialism: Means of wealth generation (factories, farms, banks) are owned by the government, which redistributes wealth through social programs (healthcare, education, childcare).
Government usually controls utilities and infrastructure.
Often an oligarchy, with only party members participating in government (e.g., China).
Public vs. Private Goods
In the U.S., the democratic government and capitalist economy are interconnected, affecting the distribution of goods and services.
Private goods: Provided by private businesses for profit (e.g., food, clothing, housing).
Ideally, people can purchase what they need.
In reality, poverty limits access to ample, quality goods and desirable housing.
Public goods: Available to all without charge, provided by the government (e.g., national security, education).
Only government can protect the nation due to its ability to tax, utilize national resources, and ensure compliance.
Public schools offer free education to all children, regardless of background.
Toll goods: Available to many but only with payment (middle ground between public and private goods).
Private schools charge tuition; public schools offer free education.
Everyone benefits from the educated voters and workers produced by public schools.
Public goods are available to all without additional charge.
Government provides stability and security (military, police, fire departments), public education, transportation, mail service, and aid for the poor.
Common goods: Available to all but of limited supply (e.g., fish in the sea, clean drinking water).
Must be protected to prevent overuse.
Government Structure and Function
Government creates a structure for providing goods and services.
Elected representatives make laws and raise money through taxes (income, property, sales).
Budgets allocate revenue for services (education, police, roads, etc.).
Laws maintain order, ensure efficient functioning of society, and regulate the business marketplace.
Government checks business actions, unlike Adam Smith’s vision of unregulated capitalism.
Citizen Participation and Politics
Governments provide means for citizens to participate and express opinions.
Western democracies protect freedom of speech, press, and voting rights.
Politics: Process of allocating resources and choosing economic/social policies. "Who gets what and how."
Involves choosing which values government will support.
Examples:
Individualism: Looser regulations, tax cuts.
Egalitarianism: Higher taxes for public education, transportation, housing, and elderly care.
National security vs. individual liberty: Balancing surveillance and privacy rights.
Civic engagement: Participation that connects citizens to government.
Influences policies, values, initiatives, and decision-makers.
Includes reading about politics, discussing news, attending debates, donating, campaigning, voting, protesting, and writing to representatives.
Different Types of Government
U.S. is a republic/representative democracy: Citizens elect representatives to make decisions.
Majority rule: Opinions of the majority have more influence.
Minority rights: Protected, even if the majority disagrees (e.g., rights of atheists).
Critical to make opinions known and vote.
Direct democracy: People participate directly in making decisions (e.g., ancient Athens).
Elements exist in the U.S., such as referendums and New England town meetings.
Monarchy: One ruler holds political power, often hereditary.
Power may be limited by law or unrestricted (absolute monarchs).
Oligarchy: A few elite members hold all political power.
E.g., Cuba and China, where only Communist Party members can participate.
Totalitarianism: Government controls all aspects of citizens’ lives, limiting rights and suppressing opposition (e.g., North Korea).
Elitism vs. Pluralism
Elite theory: A set of elite citizens controls the government.
Pluralist theory: Political power rests with competing interest groups.
C. Wright Mills: Government is controlled by business, military, and political elites.
Wealthy use their power to control the economy and secure political positions, benefiting themselves.
Politicians serve the wealthy, and order is maintained by force.
Elite are seen as better fit to govern.
Support for elite perspective:
High percentage of presidents from Ivy League schools.
High percentage of Congress members with bachelor's degrees.
Congress dominated by well-educated White male professionals and businessmen.
Race, gender, profession, education, and socioeconomic status affect political interests.
Examples:
Flat tax: Hurts the poor more than the rich.
Public education funding: Benefits the poor more than the wealthy.
Pluralist theory: Political power is distributed throughout society among organized groups.
Interest groups make desires known to politicians.
Groups compete, shaping government policy from the bottom up.
Robert Dahl: Politicians seek an “electoral payoff” by addressing citizens’ concerns.
The Tradeoffs Perspective
Government action and public policy are influenced by tradeoffs or compromises.
Interests of both the elite and the people influence government action.
Tradeoffs exist between those favoring central government supremacy and state government power.
Examples:
COVID-19 mandates: National vs. state control.
Surveillance: Balancing security and privacy.
Tradeoffs occur regarding freedom of speech.
First Amendment protects free expression.
Cannot interfere with others’ rights.
Example: McCullen v. Coakley (2014): Supreme Court struck down a law creating a buffer zone between protestors and clinic entrances.
Tradeoffs from conflict between groups with competing interests.
Example: Fracking: Balancing inexpensive energy and job creation with environmental and health concerns.
Tradeoffs in Congress:
Members vote according to constituents’ concerns.
Interests of different regions and groups within states conflict.
Legislators may follow party dictates or prioritize re-election.
Government resolves conflicting concerns through tradeoffs.
Example: Gun control: Balancing the right to bear arms with public safety.
Fix-NICS Act passed to improve background checks.
Bills under consideration in the Senate regarding gun control.
Why Get Involved?
Participation in government matters.
Pluralist theory: Government cannot function without active citizen participation.
Voting can change who the elite members are.
Robert Putnam: Civic engagement is declining.
Fewer small, interactive groups.
Factors: Increased women in the workforce, decline in marriages, technological developments.
Decline in social capital: Networks, sense of belonging, concern for the collective good, trust, and ability to work together.
Others argue that participation isn't declining as much as Putnam suggests, pointing to different forms of social involvement and increased connectedness through technology.
Civic engagement increases ordinary people's power to influence government actions.
U.S. history filled with examples of people challenging elites and gaining rights.
Abolition of slavery.
Voting rights for African Americans and women.
Civil rights legislation.
Women's rights and reproductive freedom.
LGBTQ rights.
Activism can improve quality of life (cleaner cities, more parks).
Representative democracy requires informed citizens.
Engage with issues, vote, campaign, and inform representatives.
Pathways to Engagement
People can become civically engaged in many ways.
Individual engagement:
Staying informed about debates and events.
Writing or emailing political representatives.
Filing complaints with city council.
Responding to polls.
Contributing to or starting a blog.
Social media engagement.
Voting.
Attending rallies, donating, and signing petitions.
Group engagement:
Hosting book clubs or discussion groups.
Working for political campaigns.
Joining interest groups.
Community-based volunteer efforts:
Community gardens, Habitat for Humanity, cleaning up trash, delivering meals, tutoring.
Protest marches, demonstrations, and civil disobedience.
Boycotts and "buycotts."
Factors of Engagement
Many Americans engage in political activity regularly.
Younger Americans are less likely to be involved in traditional political organizations.
Reasons:
Partisanship: Alienates some who feel representatives should vote in the nation's best interests.
Distrust of the opposing party.
Young people identify as Independents.
Focus on specific issues (e.g., same-sex marriage).
Other factors:
Candidates not addressing issues relevant to young people's lives.
Sanders made college costs an issue in 2016, galvanizing youth support.
Ideology: Established beliefs that shape political policy.
Young people tend to favor the Democratic Party.
However, even young Republicans are more liberal on some issues.
College students may find it difficult to register to vote outside their home states because:
State-issued ID is required.
May be denied one if they cannot prove that they paid in-state tuition rates.
Political involvement also depends on wealth and education.
Latent preferences: Beliefs that are not deeply held and may change over time.
Intense preferences: Strong feelings regarding an issue that someone adheres to over time.
People with intense preferences are more likely to engage in politics.
The more money and education one has, the more likely one will form intense preferences and take political action.
Government organizes society, allocates authority, and achieves goals like economic prosperity, security, and citizen well-being through politics, which involves gaining control to set and achieve goals, especially in resource allocation.
Governmental systems are distinct from economic systems but related. Capitalism, with its emphasis on self-government, natural rights (John Locke), and free markets (Adam Smith), developed alongside democratic republics. However, capitalism's focus on individualism can create wealth gaps that challenge democracy. Socialism, where the government owns wealth-generating means and redistributes wealth, often leads to oligarchies.
Goods are categorized as private (provided by businesses for profit), public (available to all without charge by the government), toll (available upon payment), and common (available to all but of limited supply). Governments provide stability, security, education, and infrastructure.
Government operates through elected representatives who make laws, raise taxes, and allocate budgets for services. They maintain order and regulate business, differing from unregulated capitalism.
Citizens participate through protected rights like free speech, influencing policies and values. This involves civic engagement, such as voting, campaigning, and contacting representatives. Political ideologies range from individualism to egalitarianism to prioritizing national security.
Government types include republics/representative democracies, monarchies, oligarchies, and totalitarian regimes.
Elite theory: A set of elite citizens controls the government. According to C. Wright Mills, government is controlled by business, military, and political elites. Wealthy use their power to control the economy and secure political positions, benefiting themselves, with politicians serving the wealthy, and order maintained by force. Evidence includes a high percentage of presidents from Ivy League schools, and Congress dominated by well-educated White male professionals and businessmen. Race, gender, profession, education, and socioeconomic status affect political interests. For instance, a flat tax hurts the poor more than the rich, while public education funding benefits the poor more than the wealthy.
Pluralist theory: Political power is distributed throughout society among organized groups. Interest groups make desires known to politicians and compete, shaping government policy from the bottom up. Robert Dahl argues that politicians seek an