American Government and Civic Engagement Flashcards

American citizens are provided with opportunities to participate in government at federal, state, and local levels.
Civic engagement, which includes activities such as voting, demonstrating, speaking out on important issues, or other forms of participation, is crucial for the success and effectiveness of a republic.

A government is the fundamental system a society uses to organize itself and allocate authority. Its primary purposes are to accomplish collective goals and provide benefits to its members.
Politics refers to the dynamic process of gaining or exercising control within a government. This process is typically driven by associations of persons who share common goals or objectives for society.

The United States operates as a representative democracy that generally adheres to a capitalist economic system.
In a capitalist system, most consumer goods and services are produced and sold by private businesses, which earn a profit on these private goods.
Certain goods or services, such as public safety and education, cannot be produced sufficiently or profitably by private entities. These are known as public goods and are provided by the government.
Governments also have the responsibility to protect common goods, which are natural resources like water that are utilized by individuals but must be preserved for the collective benefit of all.

Goods can be differentiated based on two key characteristics, as illustrated in Figure $1.3$ :
- Excludability: Whether it is possible to prevent individuals from accessing the good.
- Rivalry: Whether one person's consumption of the good diminishes its availability for others.

A democracy is a form of government where political power—which encompasses influence over institutions, leaders, and policies—is ultimately controlled by the people.
- In a representative democracy, such as that found in the United States, citizens do not directly govern. Instead, government institutions and policies are shaped by elected representatives. These democracies often incorporate checks on the power of citizens to safeguard the rights of minority groups.
- In a direct democracy, citizens participate directly in governmental decisions, rather than relying on representatives to act on their behalf.

An absolute monarchy is a system where a single ruler, typically inheriting their position, holds all political power.
- Many contemporary monarchies have evolved to limit the monarch's power, often incorporating some form of representative government, such as a parliament.

Under totalitarian governments, the state exerts control over virtually every aspect of citizens' lives. This control is typically wielded by a single leader or a small, elite group.

The elite theory of government posits that within a representative democracy, political power is concentrated in the hands of a small group of elites, leaving other citizens with minimal or no influence.

The pluralist theory of government holds that political power is dispersed among various competing interest groups that influence the government.
- Citizens can exert influence by joining groups with shared interests and actively engaging with their elected representatives at local, state, or national levels.

Historically, citizens engaged in democracy primarily through membership and advocacy within smaller, localized groups like churches, local labor unions, and other community organizations.
Contemporary societal and technological shifts have reduced the time many citizens have for active participation in civic organizations. Consequently, individuals increasingly join larger national organizations where each person typically plays a comparatively small role.

Social capital is defined as the collective value embedded in all social networks, coupled with the willingness of these networks to collaborate towards a common objective.
Active civic engagement enhances an individual's capacity to influence governmental policies and actions.
A functioning representative democracy relies on an informed citizenry to vote for candidates and advocate for desired policies, alongside other forms of civic engagement.

Civic engagement can be pursued either individually or as part of a group.
Individual civic engagement includes actions such as staying informed about current events, voting, contributing to political campaigns, and contacting elected representatives regarding specific issues.
Group civic engagement encompasses activities like discussing issues with others, working on political campaigns, volunteering or fundraising for organizations aligned with one's goals, registering people to vote, participating in protests or marches, and boycotting businesses that do not support one's views, among many others.

Americans under the age of $30$ demonstrate a lower propensity to engage in partisan politics.
- A $2015$ survey by the Harvard University Institute of Politics indicated that more young Americans identified as independents ( $40$ percent) than as Democrats ( $36$ percent) or Republicans ( $21$ percent).
- While less likely to engage in direct political action, young Americans under $30$ frequently participate in various civic activities, such as volunteering to provide community services.

Beyond age, an individual's wealth and education level significantly influence civic engagement.
Wealthier and more educated citizens are statistically more likely to vote.

Survey data from the Harvard Institute of Politics in $2018$ for young Americans ( $18-29$ ) revealed the following regarding party affiliation (when asked about voting affiliation):
- Independent: $40$
- Democrat: $37$
  - Strong Democrat: $22$
  - Not a Strong Democrat: $10$
  - Leans Democrat: $5$
- Republican: $21$
  - Strong Republican: $11$
  - Not a Strong Republican: $10$
  - Leans Republican: $5$
- Does not lean either way (among independents): $18$
Regarding self-identified political ideology (when asked about most political issues):
- Liberal: $32$
- Moderate: $27$
- Conservative: $24$
- Moderate-leaning Liberal: $9$
- Moderate-leaning Conservative: $8$
Note: The sum of percentages for party affiliation and ideology may not be exactly $100$ due to rounding or other categories not explicitly stated in the provided text for the chart.