US Govt: Government in General

  1. What are government and politics?

    1. Government is the institution within society in which decisions are made that resolve conflicts and allocate benefits and privileges.

    2. Politics is the struggle over power or influence within government to determine who gets what, when, and where.

      1. Two kinds: Democrat and Republican

  2. Theories of government – where did the idea of government come from

    1. Divine theory: Government was created by God to benefit man

    2. Force Theory: Government was created by one or a few for their benefit

    3. Social Contract: Government was created by the consent of the people with the concept of popular sovereignty– the will of the people is the ultimate authority. 

    4. Evolution Theory: Government just developed.

  3. What has to exist before there can be a government or a country/nation

    1. People, land, sovereignty– right to control itself, authority– the right or power to make decisions and enforce them, legitimacy– the acceptance of the power and right to exercise its authority, and recognition– other governments/countries saying it’s a government/country.

  4. What are the duties of government?

Is the government needed to make people good by preventing them from being bad?

  1. Order or pretection within the society [outlaw]

  2. Protection from the outside- human and natural threats 

  3. Protect and guarantee a food supply [beer]

  4. Guarantee liberty– the greatest freedom of the individual that is consistent with the freedom of other individuals in the society [American Revolution]

  1. Types of government

    1. Totalitarian– rules by one with force. This is total control of all aspects of the people’s lives and can be done with a dictatorship– rule by one with force or with a monarchy– rule by one in a family in a family

      1. Queen Victoria – Prince Albert

      2. King Edward VII – Queen Mary

      3. King Edward VIII    King George – Queen Elizabeth

      4. Queen Elizabeth II – Prince Phillip

      5. King Charles – Queen Consort Camellia

    2. Authoritarian– government controlled by one as with a dictatorship [Turkey and Gabon] or a monarchy [Jordan and Bahrain] except the economic and social institutions are free of total control

    3. Oligarchy– rule by a few and can be aristocracy– rule by the elite [Communist Party in China]

    4. Theocracy– Rule by God or the church [Vatican City or Iran]

    5. Anarchy– ruled by no one

    6. Democracy– rule by citizens 

      1. Direct Democracy– rule by the citizens directly. Some states allow limited direct democracy.

        1. Initiative– the voters can propose a law [California]

        2. Referendum– the voters can approve the laws or legislative proposals [Texas Constitutional Amendments]

        3. Recall– the voters can remove an elected official [California]

        4. Roll back– the voters have a say in taxes [Texas]

      2. Republic– rule by the citizens through elected representatives

      3. Dangers of/in a democracy

        1. Apathy- when people don’t care to vote

        2. People are easily persuaded to follow questionable leaders

        3. Uninformed voters

        4. Majoritarianism- the government must do what the majority– 50%+1 of the people desire

          1. Elite theory– The government is controlled by those few who have influence or by the few who exercise their voting privilege

          2. Pluralism– The government is the result of compromise between competing interest groups who are seeking their own ends

  2. Levels of Government

    1. National or Federal

    2. State 

    3. Local

      1. County

      2. Municipal, City, Town, or township

      3. Special District

  3. Branches of Government

    1. Legislative- Makes the Law

    2. Executive- Enforces the Law

    3. Judicial- Punishes Law Breakers

  4. Political Culture

    1. Fundamental Values

      1. Natural rights of man and the five basic freedoms

        1. The natural rights of man life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

        2. Five basic freedoms are speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition.

      2. Equality– The idea that all men are created equal. Protections given by the 5th and 14th Amendments which call for equal protection and equal treatment.

      3. Government of, by, and for the people

      4. Limited government– right to revolt

    2. Political Ideologies

      1. Conservative– Support traditional values and lifestyles and have a cautious response to change

      2. Liberal– Tolerates and encourages political and social change to improve life

      3. Socialist or Socialism– Strong supporters of social and economic equality and thinks government should strive for this. 

      4. Libertarianism– strong supporters of individual liberty and oppose government regulation. Socially liberal but economically conservative.

      5. Populist– Faith in the ordinary man and believe that the common men are cheated by the elite.

    3. Revolutions

      1. Conservative revolution– There is very little change.

Liberal revolutions– There is vast change.