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Chapter 1
Brainstorm: create a list of words that you
associate with politics
Define – construct a definition of politics
Find a partner, you have 4 minutes!!!!!!
• Who governs? To what ends?
• Who will/should lead?
• What policies should be pushed?
Politics = power struggle
over who governs and to
what ends…
• Who governs / to what ends? : These are two distinct
questions, not variations of the same!!!!!!!
Who governs?
• Doesn’t always predict to what ends
• Civil rights act 1965, 19th amendment
• Power / authority: how are they different?
• What is the source of authority in the U.S.?
• Constitution
• Under the Constitution for a local, state, or our federal gov’t to be
legitimate it must be democratic
Who governs? To what ends?
Overview
2. To what ends?
• What policy are you creating? What programs do you favor?
• Several factors that will influence this
• Such as?
Who governs? To what
ends? Overview
• We believe that personalities, beliefs, virtues and
vices will affect how a person will govern
• Candidate ads, perfect example…
• http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/08/10/15
8564552/in-new-ads-focused-on-character-obamaand-romney-get-personal
Does personal character matter?
Does consistency of views matter?
Do you have to be ‘likeable’?
Who should govern?
• What programs should be favored?
• How much influence should the gov’t have over certain
issues
• Trend in US politics
• private becomes public
• Greater involvement in everyday lives of Americans
• Where should we go?: Always a central question in
governing, clearly visible in this election (What
Direction??????)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjZFXaT9OeQ
To what ends should they
govern?
• There are many individuals and institutions with power, but who
should have authority?
• Distinguishing between power and authority is, fundamentally,
reflective of one’s political beliefs.
• In what kinds of institutions do you have
confidence? Why do you trust them? In contrast,
what kinds of institutions raise your suspicions?
Why?
institutions: school, church, government ( Legislative,
Executive, and Judicial branches)
• Due in class tomorrow
• 2 paragraphs: typed or neatly handwritten
• 1st: in what institutions do you have confidence? Why?
• 2nd: what institutions raise your suspicion? Why?
Who should govern? To what
ends?
Direct/ participatory
Representative
What is it?
Historic example? /Current example?
Advantages? / Disadvantages?
Concerns of the framers?
Questions for reading:
1. List examples of the Framers trying to
protect against ‘mobocracy’
2. Starting with the progressive era, Americans
have had more direct access to shaping
policy. How have we been given more
access? Do you think this is a positive step
forward, or have we given individuals too
much power?
3.
After reading this article, what is your
reaction to Hamilton’s quote (the one that
introduces the article)?
• What is it?
• How do you gain
power in this
system?
• Must have
competitive
elections!!!
• Questions to ask
yourself:
• Do we have
meaningful choices?
• Is our system
elitist?
We operate politically within a democratic system:
What type of democracy is best?
•
Majoritarian politics: officeholders follow the will of the people very closely
• Occurs when issues are simple and clear, benefits many – cost shared by many : social
security (historically)
•
•
When issues are more complex it is usually a smaller group of people who are
more motivated to be actively involved that actually shape policy (not necessarily
the will of the majority
Elitist politics: rule by an identifiable group of persons who possess a
disproportionate share of political power
• Marxist : Marx
• Proletariat(workers) vs. Bourgeoisie (capitalists)
• Now focused on power of the rich and multi-national corps.
•
Power Elite :C.W. Mills
• Coalition of 3 groups: business leaders, top military officials, handful of key political
leaders
• Now includes mass media, special interest groups, and labor union leadership in addition
to original 3
•
Bureaucratic : Weber
•
•
warns elected officials aren’t that important (500,000 vs. 16.4 million) those with power are the
bureaucrats who are in charge of instituting policy
Pluralist
•
Don’t worry too much about elites because they are divided, policy is the result of complex
shifting patterns of alliances, and no single group has a monopoly on political resources
Who really influences policy decisions in a representative
democracy?
• Is our system based on self interest?
• Elitist theories of politics may lead to the cynical view that
politics is simply a self seeking enterprise in which
everyone is out for political gain
• Historically it is clear that economic self interest is an
important factor in decisions, but so is public interest!!!!!
• AFL-CIO fighting for Civil Rights Act of 1965 is a perfect
example of this!!!!!
Democracy and selfinterest
• Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau
• Similarities, differences, who’s theory do you buy?
Who should govern? To
what ends? – political
theory