The Foundations of American Government

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The Foundations of American Government
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Focus of Lecture

• to teach and clearly define democracy.

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Learning Objectives, Students Should Understand

• the relationship between politics and
  government.
• the different forms of government (e.g.,
  democracy vs. autocracy).
• Explain the key features of US democracy (e.g.,
  universal suffrage).

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Learning Objectives, Students Should Understand
(Contd)

• Describe the competing theories of how the U.S.
  democracy works (e.g., majoritarianism, elitism,
  and pluralism).
• Define political culture and describe the process
  of political socialization.
• Define the concept of ideology and explain the
  dominant ideologies in the US.

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To Focus Effectively And

• To Take the Learning Objectives Seriously

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What May Need To Occur?
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Political Efficacy

• A student (i.e., a citizen) may choose to
  seriously learn about US Democracy and
  participate in it when she/he believes that
  citizens can affect what government does and that
  they can take action to make government listen to
  them.As stated above, this is political
  efficacy.

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Not every effort of ordinary citizens to
influence government will succeed, but without
any such efforts, government decisions will be
made by a smaller and smaller circle of powerful
people.
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Such loss of broad popular influence over
government actions undermines the key feature of
American democracygovernment by the people.
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Most people do not want to be politically active
every day of their lives, but it is essential to
our political ideals that all citizens be
informed and able to act.
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An important prerequisite to achieving an
increased sense of political efficacy is
acquiring political knowledge.
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3 Forms Of Political Knowledge

• Knowledge of government.
• Knowledge of politics.
• Knowledge of democratic principles.

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Knowledge Of Government

• Such as, a citizen having knowledge of her/his
  governments structure and organization.
• E.G., If your road is rendered impassable by
  snow, which governmental level does a citizen go
  to for assistance.

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Knowledge Of Politics

• We need to understand what is at stake in the
  political world.
• This includes discerning ones own interests in
  the political arena and identifying the best
  means to realize it.

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Knowledge Of Democratic Principles

• Vote
• Contact political officials
• Sign petitions
• Volunteer in a campaign
• Participate in a protest or rally
• Attend public meetings.

• Citizens need to know what forms of political
  conduct are consistent with democratic
  principles.

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With this understanding of the need to be
politically knowledgeable in order to be
politically efficacious, its time to learn the
many terms in this chapter so that you will have
a grasp of the foundations of American Government.
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What Is Politics?
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Politics Defined
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• Politics is the struggle over power or influence
  within organizations or informal groups that can
  grant or withhold benefits or privileges.

• An organization is a body of persons organized
  for some specific purpose.

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A Simpler Way To Define Politics Is?
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• Regulating Conflict Within A Society
• That is, conflict resolution.

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Two Authors Definitions of the Term, Politics
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• David Easton The authoritative allocation of
  values.
• Harold Lasswell Who gets what, when, and how.

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Politics (Contd)
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• Regardless which definition of politics is used,
  each refers to the struggle over the distribution
  of benefits or privileges That is, which
  members of society get benefits or privileges
• And/Or
• Which are excluded from certain benefits or
  privileges.

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Politics (Contd)
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• One, there are differences of belief or ideology.
  
• Two, there are differences in the perceived goals
  of the society.
• Three, scarce resources exist, and not every want
  can be satisfied by society.

• So, politics refers to conflict and conflict
  resolution in society.
• Conflict is always present in society because of
  three major reasons

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Government Defined

• An institution refers to an ongoing organization
  that performs certain functions for society.
• The word itself is derived from the Greek word
  meaning tool A tool is something that you use to
  get something done.

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• Government refers to the institutions in which
  decisions are made that resolve conflicts or
  allocate benefits and privileges.
• E.G., US National Legislature/ Congress is a
  government.

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That is, Government Can Be Described As
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• a permanent structure of decision makersthe
  structure is permanent, not the decision makers,
• who makes societys rules about conflict
  resolution,
• who makes rules about the allocation of resources
  and,
• who possesses the power to enforce those rules.

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Why Do We Need Government?Functions of
Government
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• Conflict resolution.
• Maintaining order (security).
• Providing public services.
• Preserving the nations culture.
• Resolving societal issues through public policies.

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Functions of Government Explained
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• To provide structure for conflict
  resolutione.g., Congress debates issues and puts
  them to a vote when resolving issues.
• To provide orderby keeping the peace, the
  government protects the people from violence at
  the hands of private or foreign armies.
• To provide public servicese.g., such as building
  and maintaining roads, public schools and parks.

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Functions of Government Explained (Contd)
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• To preserve the nations culturei.e., by way of
  its customs, beliefs, values, and language(s).
• To establish and implement public
  policiespolicies are designed to improve the
  lives and general welfare of the people (e.g.,
  protecting the environment).

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Forms of Government
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Governments vary in their structure and in the
way they operate.
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Two questions are important in determining how
governments differ1. Who Governs?2. How
much government control is permitted?
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Question 1 Who Governs?

• Four Categories
• Anarchy
• Autocracy
• Oligarchy
• Democracy

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Question 1 Who Governs?

• First Category Anarchy
• No government exists and individuals must resolve
  conflicts on their own. Somalia (1991-2006).

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Question 1 Who Governs?

• Second Category AutocracyGovernment by a single
  individual. E. G. MonarchyAbsolute rule by a
  single person often a heredity. Chief of state
  with life tenure and powers varying from nominal
  to absolute. An example is Spain (up to 19th
  Century) and England ( presently).

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Question 1 Who Governs?

• Second Category AutocracyGovernment by a single
  individual.
• E. G. TheocracyGovernment by a person claiming
  to rule with divine authority (i.e., God). An
  example is Tibet before 20th century.

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Question 1 Who Governs?

• Third Category OligarchyGovernment by the few
  (a small group).
• E. G. AristocracyRule by the best in reality,
  rule by an upper class. That is, decisions made
  by the best suited in terms of wealth, education,
  intelligence, and family prestige. In Europe,
  this meant ruled by the titled nobility.
• Athens before 8th century, BC.

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Question 1 Who Governs?

• Third Category OligarchyGovernment by the few
  (a small group).
• E. G. Meritocracy is a system of government based
  on demonstrated ability, talent, and competence
  rather than by wealth, family connections, class
  privilege, cronyism, popularity or any other
  historical determinants of social position and
  political power.

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Question 1 Who Governs?

• Third Category OligarchyGovernment by the few
  (a small group). (Contd)
• E. G. Meritocracy--the premise is that positions
  of trust, responsibility, and social prestige
  should be earned.
• Examples are 1790s, Napoleonic France, the
  Republic of Singapore, and 19th century Finland.

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Question 1 Who Governs?

• Third Category OligarchyGovernment by the few
  (a small group).
• PlutocracyGovernment by the wealthy.
• E. G., City-state in Ancient Greece, the Italian
  merchant republics of Venice and Florence.

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Question 1 Who Governs?

• Third Category OligarchyGovernment by the few
  (a small group).
• TheocracyGovernment by a group claiming to rule
  with divine authority (i.e., God).
• E.G., Vatican.

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Question 1 Who Governs?

• Fourth Category DemocracyGovernment by the
  people.
• Examples United States, France, Germany, England.

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2 Types of Democracies
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• Indirect/Representative Democracy (AKA,
  Republic)A form of government in which
  representatives elected by the people make and
  enforce laws and policies.

• Direct Democracy A system of government in
  which political decisions are made by the people
  directly, rather than by their elected
  representatives probably possible only in small
  political communities.

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The United States is

• A Representative Democracy

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Although United States is a representative
Democracy

• United States acts like a direct democracy when
  its uses an initiative, referendum, or recall.

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A Small Amount of Direct Democracy In US
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• Initiative a procedure by which voters can
  propose a law or a constitutional amendment.
• Referendum An act of referring legislative or
  constitutional measures to the voters for
  approval or disapproval.
• Recall A procedure allowing the people to vote
  to dismiss an elected official before his or her
  term has expired.

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The first question who governs has been
addressed. Now, to continue inquiring about
determining how governments differ, the next
question is addressed. Question number two is
How much government control is permitted?
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Question two refers to how much government
control is permitted.

• Three Categories
• Authoritarian
• Totalitarian
• Constitutional Governments

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Question 2 It Refers To How They Govern That
Is, How Much Government Control Is Permitted?

• First Category Authoritarian
• A type of regime in which only the government
  itself is fully controlled by the ruler. Social
  and economic institutions exist that are not
  under the governments control.
• An example is the Spanish government under
  Francisco Franco, while still allowing some
  personal freedom, would be considered as
  authoritarian.

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Question 2 It Refers To How They Govern That
Is, How Much Government Control Is Permitted?
Contd)

• That is, the law imposes few real limits, the
  government is nevertheless kept in check by other
  political and social institutions that the
  government is unable to control and must come to
  terms with such as autonomous territories, an
  organized religion, organized business groups, or
  organized labor unions.Additional examples are
  South America, Asia, and Africa.

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Question 2 It Refers To How They Govern That
Is, How Much Government Control Is Permitted?

• Second Category Totalitarian
• Government controls all aspects of individuals
  lifeseeks to absorb or eliminate other social
  institutions that might challenge it.
• E.G., Italy, 20th Century, under Mussolini.

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Question 2 It Refers To How They Govern That
Is, How Much Government Control Is Permitted?

• Third Category Constitutional Governments.
• Governments are limited as to what they are
  permitted to control (substantive limitsfreedom
  of speech) as well as how they go about it
  (procedural limitsdue process).
• E.G. United States is a Representative Democracy
  that has a Constitutional Government.

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Principles Of US DemocraticGovernment
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• Universal suffrage, the right of all adults to
  vote for representatives
• Majority rule with the protection of minority
  rights and

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Principles Of DemocraticGovernment (Contd)
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• Limited government, the authority of government
  is limited by a written document or widely held
  beliefs.
• Popular Sovereigntyultimate political authority
  is based on the will of the people.

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Do We Have a Democracy?
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The following 3 theories provide different
interpretations of who is ruling the US.
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Majoritarianism
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• A political theory holding that if a nation is a
  democracy, the government ought to do what the
  majority of the people want.
• Many scholars consider majoritarianism to be a
  poor description of how American democracy
  actually works. With low level turnout for
  elections, do these numbers really represent the
  majority position. That is, the percentage
  voting is not the majority of the citizens in the
  US.

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Elite Theory
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• It has suggested that society is ruled by a small
  number of wealthy people, who exercise power in
  their self-interest.
• Versions on theory 1) that voters choose among
  competing elites 2) new members of the elite are
  recruited through the educational system where
  this gateway provides for the masses offspring
  to join the elite stratum.
• One criticism is that elite theory puts far less
  emphasis on classes or class conflict (i.e., more
  powerful groups use their power in order to
  exploit groups with less power ) to fully
  understand power in the United States.

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Pluralism Theory
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• It proposes that conflict in society is among
  interest groups. That is, a struggle among groups
  to gain benefits for their members.
• Pluralism suggests that group conflicts tend to
  be settled by compromise and accommodation so
  that each interest is satisfied to some extent.
• Therefore, bargaining, compromise, and
  accommodation among groups should determine
  political decision-making.

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Pluralism Theory (Contd)
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• Problems with Pluralism
• Poor citizens are rarely represented by interest
  groups.
• Rich citizens are often overrepresented.
• Theres doubts whether group decision making
  always reflects the best interests of the nation.

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None of the 3 Theories Explain The Whole Picture
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• Neither majoritarianism, elite, or pluralism
  fully describes the workings of American
  democracy.
• Instead, each theory captures a part of reality.
• We need all three theories to gain a greater
  understanding of American Politics.

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Political Values and Ideology
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Fundamental ValuesCertain Concepts basic to US
Political system
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• How did US achieve consensus on certain
  concepts?
• Through the process called Political
  Socialization.

• Political Socialization is the process through
  which individuals learn a set of political
  attitudes and form opinions about social issues.

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Primary Sources of Political Socialization

• Family
• Education

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Function Of Public Education System in US

• To teach the values of the political culture to
  students through history courses, discussions of
  political issues, the rituals of pledging
  allegiance to the flag, and celebrating national
  holidays.

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Example Pledging Allegiance To The Flag

• On September 8, 1892 a Boston-based youth
  magazine "The Youth's Companion" published a
  22-word recitation for school children to use
  during planned activities the following month to
  commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus'
  discovery of America.   Under the title "The
  Pledge to the Flag", the composition was the
  earliest version of what we now know as the
  PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.

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Example Pledging Allegiance To The Flag

• I pledge allegiance to the Flag     of the
  United States of America,and to the Republic for
  which it stands     one Nation under God,
  indivisible,With Liberty and Justice for all.

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Example Pledging Allegiance To The Flag

• When you Pledge Allegiance to the United States
  Flag, You
• Promise your loyalty to the Flag itself.
• Promise your loyalty to your own and the other
  49 States.
• Promise your loyalty to the Government that
  unites us all,     Recognizing that we are ONE
  Nation under God,     That we can not or should
  not be divided or alone,     And understanding
  the right to Liberty and Justice belongs to ALL
  of us.

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Political socialization has been important in
holding society together by persuading people to
support the existing political process.
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The Fundamental Values Within the US Democratic
System Are
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• Liberty
• Equality
• Property

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Liberty
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• The quality or state of being free the power to
  do as one pleases freedom from physical
  restraint freedom from arbitrary or despotic
  control the positive enjoyment of various
  social, political, or economic rights and
  privileges e the power of choice
• The greatest freedom of individuals that is
  consistent with the freedom of other individuals
  in the society.

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Equality
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• The quality or state of being equalthat is, of
  the same measure, quantity, amount, or number as
  another like in quality, nature, or status
• Most Americans use the term to means that all
  persons should have the same opportunity to
  fulfill their potential.

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Property
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• Something owned or possessed, specificallya
  piece of real estate.

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Political Ideologies
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• A closely linked set of beliefs about the goal of
  politics and the most desirable political order.
• At the core of every political ideology is a set
  of values that guides its theory of governmental
  power.

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Political Ideologies
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• Conservatism
• Liberalism
• SocialismLibertarianism

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Conservatism
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• A set of beliefs that includes a limited role for
  the national government in helping individuals.
• Conservatives believe that the private sector
  probably can outperform the government in almost
  any activity.
• Believing that the individual is primarily
  responsible for his or her own well-being,
  conservatives are less supportive of government
  initiatives to redistribute income or to craft
  programs that will change the status of
  individuals.

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Liberalism
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• The advocacy of positive government action to
  improve the welfare of individualssuch as a
  support for civil rights and tolerance for
  political and social change.
• It is believed that it is the obligation of the
  government to enhance opportunities for the
  economic and social equality of all individuals.
• Liberals tend to support programs to reduce
  poverty, to endorse progressive taxation to
  redistribute income from wealthier classes to the
  poorer ones, and to rely on government regulation
  to guide the activities of business and the
  economy.

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Socialism
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• Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines
  or political movements that envisage a
  socio-economic system in which property and the
  distribution of wealth are subject to control by
  the community.1 This control may be either
  directexercised through popular collectives such
  as workers' councilsor indirectexercised on
  behalf of the people by the state. As an economic
  system, socialism is often characterized by state
  or worker ownership of the means of production.
• Active control of major economic sectors E.G.
  Medical careCanada's socialized medicine.

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Libertarianism

• Libertarianism is a political philosophy
  maintaining that all persons are the absolute
  owners of their own lives, and should be free to
  do whatever they wish with their persons or
  property, provided they allow others the same
  liberty and avoid abusing their
  liberty.Libertarians favor an ethic of
  self-responsibility and strongly oppose
  conscription and the welfare state, because they
  believe coercing someone to provide charity and
  military service is ethically wrong, ultimately
  counter-productive, or both.

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The two political ideologies that have played a
central part in American political debates are
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• Conservatism
• Liberalism

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They want a democracy. Do you?
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Democracy

• Having faith that regular folks can rule is
  difficult.But, regular folks can rule!