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1. Elite Theory

Elite theory argues that a small group of powerful people, especially political elites, have a major influence on government decisions.

Political elites tend to be:

  • Wealthier

  • Older

  • White

  • Male

  • Highly educated

These elites do not perfectly represent the U.S. population, which is racially diverse, includes many younger people, and has a wide range of income and education levels.

Main idea:

Political elites may support policies that benefit themselves or people similar to them.

Example:
Wealthy people may support tax cuts because they could personally benefit from paying less in taxes.

2. Pluralist Theory

Pluralist theory argues that interest groups should be able to influence government officials.

An interest group is an organized group of people who work to influence government policy around a particular issue.

Ways interest groups influence government:

  1. Campaign donations

    • Groups may donate money to candidates.

    • They hope the candidate will consider their interests when making decisions.

  2. Writing legislation

    • Interest groups may write proposed bills.

    • They can ask elected officials to introduce and support those bills.

  3. Lobbying

    • A lobbyist works to influence government officials on behalf of an organization or interest group.

    • Lobbyists may meet with elected officials and their staff.

Example:

An environmental interest group wants to protect whales.

They might:

  • Donate to a candidate's campaign.

  • Provide proposed legislation.

  • Hire lobbyists.

  • Ask lawmakers to support policies protecting whales.

Important point:

Not all interest groups have the same amount of money or influence.

Wealthier interest groups may have more resources to donate, hire lobbyists, and promote their policies.

3. Elite Theory + Pluralist Theory

These two theories can work together.

Political elites and powerful interest groups may reach a compromise or trade-off when creating laws.

Trade-off

A trade-off happens when different groups compromise to create a policy.

However, the resulting policy may not benefit everyone.

Example from class:

Some government programs may receive funding cuts while other programs receive continued or increased support.

The groups with greater political influence may have more success protecting the programs that benefit them.

4. Social Programs

SNAP

SNAP provides food assistance to people who qualify based on economic need.

Medicaid

Medicaid provides health-care coverage to eligible people, including many people with lower incomes.

Social Security

Social Security provides benefits to eligible individuals, including retirees.

The professor used these programs to demonstrate how different groups can have different levels of political influence.

5. AARP Example

AARP is an interest group that represents older Americans.

It has:

  • Millions of members

  • Significant resources

  • Political influence

The professor used AARP as an example of how a large and organized interest group can influence government policy.

Connection to pluralist theory:

AARP can organize its members and use its resources to influence elected officials.

Connection to elite theory:

Political elites may respond to powerful groups because those groups have significant political resources.

Together, these demonstrate how elite theory and pluralist theory can interact.

6. Civil Engagement

Civic engagement refers to the ways people participate in and interact with government and their communities.

Examples include:

  • Voting

  • Learning about government

  • Contacting elected officials

  • Joining interest groups

  • Participating in political activities

  • Advocating for issues

Representative democracy

The U.S. has a representative democracy, meaning citizens elect representatives who make government decisions and policies on their behalf.

Because of this, citizens need to participate in the political process.

7. Political Knowledge

Political knowledge is what people know about their government and political system.

The professor gave the class a short political knowledge test.

Questions included:

  • Who is the U.S. president?

  • Who is the vice president?

  • How many senators does each state have?

  • What determines the number of U.S. House districts?

  • How is the president elected?

  • Who are your U.S. senators?

  • How many Supreme Court justices are there?

  • Who is the current Chief Justice?

Important:

The test was used to demonstrate the general level of political knowledge in the classroom, not as a graded assignment.

8. Why Is Political Knowledge Low?

Several factors can contribute to lower political knowledge.

1. News and media

People may not follow the news.

Also, different news sources can emphasize different perspectives.

The professor discussed the television hypothesis, which suggests that television and news media can have complicated effects on political knowledge.

2. Assuming other people will care

Some people assume someone else will pay attention to politics or handle political issues.

This can lead to political apathy.

3. Less civics education

Schools have placed more emphasis on subjects such as:

  • Math

  • Science

  • Reading

Civics and government education has received less emphasis in many educational settings.

4. Political apathy

Political apathy means having little interest or motivation to participate in politics.

Some people believe:

  • Their vote doesn't matter.

  • Government doesn't listen to them.

  • Their participation won't make a difference.

5. Low political trust

People may distrust government because of:

  • Political scandals

  • Corruption

  • Government failures

  • Negative experiences or information

Low trust can make people less interested in participating.

6. Time

Political knowledge requires time.

People may be busy with:

  • School

  • Jobs

  • Careers

  • Families

  • Other responsibilities

9. Age and Political Knowledge

The professor discussed differences between age groups.

Older adults, particularly those 65 and older, tend to have higher levels of political knowledge and political participation.

Possible reasons include:

  • More time after retirement

  • More education about government when they were younger

  • More life experience

  • Higher levels of education and wealth among some older adults

Younger adults

People under 30 often have lower levels of:

  • Political knowledge

  • Political participation

Possible reasons:

  • They may still be in school.

  • They may be starting careers.

  • They may be starting families.

  • They have less time.

  • They have had fewer opportunities to gain political experience.

10. Education and Wealth

Two important socioeconomic factors connected to political participation are:

Education

Education is one of the strongest factors associated with political participation.

People with more education may:

  • Understand government better.

  • Understand political issues better.

  • Be more likely to participate.

Wealth/Income

People with greater financial resources may have more opportunities to participate politically.

For example, they may be able to:

  • Donate to campaigns.

  • Join interest groups.

  • Spend more time following politics.

Education and wealth can also be connected.

11. Elections and Civic Engagement

Political engagement is not equally high during every election.

Presidential elections

Presidential elections generally receive the most attention and participation.

Reasons include:

  • Presidential candidates receive significant media coverage.

  • Elections are highly visible.

  • Campaigns appear on social media, television, signs, and advertisements.

  • People see the president as an especially important political position.

Congressional elections

Participation generally decreases compared with presidential elections.

Local elections

Participation can be much lower, sometimes below 10% depending on the election.

Key idea: The closer an election is to the local level, the less attention and participation it may receive.

12. Civics

Civics is the study of how government works and how citizens participate in government.

Civic knowledge includes understanding:

  • The Constitution

  • Government institutions

  • Citizens' rights

  • Political participation

  • How laws are created

  • How citizens can influence government

Important idea from the video:

A democracy requires active citizens.

If citizens are uninformed or apathetic, they are less likely to participate effectively.

13. Political Knowledge → Civic Engagement

The major connection from today's lecture:

Higher political knowledge → greater ability to participate effectively

Lower political knowledge → greater likelihood of political disengagement

People who understand how government works are better able to:

  • Vote

  • Contact officials

  • Understand policies

  • Participate in interest groups

  • Advocate for issues

14. Historical Example: Civil Rights Movement

The video connected civic education to the Civil Rights Movement.

Citizens used their rights, including:

  • Free speech

  • Assembly

  • Petition

  • Protest

  • Voting

to pressure government to make changes.

Main lesson:

Citizens can influence government when they understand their rights and how the political system works.