Politics and Government: Comprehensive Study Notes

Politics = A struggle over who gets what, when, and how
- Politics uses power and scarce resources.
- Politics attempts to reach a political goal.
- Politics produces winners and losers.

Politics is a process.
Government is an organization.
Each government exercises authority over a state or nation.
Politics shapes the rules that a state uses to regulate how power is distributed.

Governments arose when human beings realized that they could not survive without some way to regulate both their own and their neighbors’ behavior.
"If men were angels, no government would be necessary." – James Madison

A government is an institution through which society makes and enforces its public policies
Public policies are those things a government decides to do, e.g. taxation, education, defense, health care, etc.

To achieve its public policies government exercise three basic kinds of powers:
- Legislative Power - The power to make laws and frame public policies.
- Executive Power - The power to execute, enforce and administer law.
- Judicial Power - The power to interpret laws, to determine their meaning, and to settle disputes that arise within society.

A state is a body of people, living in a defined territory, organized politically (i.e. a government) and has the power to make and enforce laws without the consent of a higher authority.

\text{State} = {\text{Population},\ \text{Territory},\ \text{Sovereignty},\ \text{Government}}
POPULATION: Large or small, every state must be inhabited—that is, have a population.
TERRITORY: Every state must have land, with known and recognized borders.
SOVEREIGNTY: The state has absolute power within its territory. It can decide its own foreign and domestic policies.
GOVERNMENT: Government is the mechanism through which a state makes and enforces its policies.

An individual or group claimed control over a territory and forced the population to submit. In this way, the state became sovereign, and those in control formed a government.

God created the state, making it sovereign. The government is made up of those chosen by God to rule a certain territory. The population must obey their ruler.

A population formed out of primitive families. The heads of these families became the government. When these families settled in one territory and claimed it as their own, they became a sovereign state.

A population in a given territory gave up as much power to a government as needed to promote the well-being of all. In doing so, they created a sovereign state.

Economics: Production and distribution of goods and services – varies according to country
Economic systems: Distribution of resources in a society – differs according to government control over economy

There are two broad types of political systems:
- Authoritarian: Government has ultimate power over how people live their lives. It can be totalitarian or it can limit its own power. Example: Nazi Germany
- Nonauthoritarian: Ultimate power rests with the people in the state. Example: United States

Less government control over individual lives and the social order
- Individuals (citizens) decide how to live their lives.
Government role limited to Anarchy- Nonauthoritarian System
- No government or man-made laws; individuals do as they please
- There are no real-world guarantees of individual rights.
- Examples: United States, Sweden, Japan, South Korea, India
Government decides how individuals should live
- Examples: China, North Korea, Cuba, Saudi Arabia
More government control over individual lives and the social order

Anarchy: Neither government nor laws – Why might this be a difficult system in which to live?
Democracy: Government by the people – All-powerful populace – Certain rights guaranteed
Direct democracy: Government with people standing up for themselves – Majority rule by voter decision
Indirect democracy: Government with elected leaders representing the people

Direct Democracy
- Also called pure democracy
- The people themselves formulate public policy
- Works only at a small, local level
Indirect Democracy
- Also called representative democracy
- A group of persons chosen by the people formulates public policy
- Widely used at the national, State, and local levels

\text{Distribution of Power by Government Type}
UNITARY GOVERNMENT
- ADVANTAGE: One central government means greater uniformity and efficiency.
- DISADVANTAGE: Distant central government may not understand citizens' needs.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
- ADVANTAGE: The national government and the states are co-equal partners.
- DISADVANTAGE: Conflicts inevitably arise between the two levels of government and some functions and services are duplicated.
CONFEDERATE GOVERNMENT
- ADVANTAGE: Most power belongs to the local (regional) governments.
- DISADVANTAGE: The central government only has limited power, which restricts its ability to act on behalf of the confederacy as a whole.